FIRST PITCH
• The ULM baseball team will wrap up its season-opening homestand on Monday (Feb. 24) afternoon versus Little Rock. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. from Lou St. Amant Field.
ULM split the first two games of its weekend series versus Houston Christian before the series finale was canceled due to inclement weather. The Warhawks have opened the season with a 4-2 record after taking the season-opening series versus Eastern Illinois and winning a midweek game versus Grambling last Tuesday.
After sweeping Evansville opening weekend, Little Rock was swept by Nicholls in Thibodaux last weekend. All three games of the series were decided by three or fewer runs.
Monday's matchup is the 93rd between ULM and Little Rock with ULM holding a 50-42 advantage, but the Trojans have won six of the previous seven matchups, including a 4-2 win at Lou St. Amant Field last season. Monday's game will air on KMLB.com and the TuneIn app. Live stats will be available on ulmwarhawks.com.
• ULM head coach Michael Federico begins his eighth season with the Warhawks on Friday. He has led the Warhawks to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in three of the last six seasons that the championship was contested. He was hired as head coach at ULM prior to the 2018 season and served as the club's pitching coach from 2018-22. During the 2024 season, Federico led the Warhawks to wins over NCAA regional finalists Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss as part of their 25 win season, which was the most since 2021. Two ULM pitchers that Federico coached signed free agent contracts with Major League Baseball organizations including Parker Seay (New York Yankees) and Chipper Menard (Baltimore Orioles).
• Bryce Blaser has began the 2025 season going 10-for-20 at the plate and has hit three extra-base hits to lead ULM. Blaser's OPS of 1.295 leads the Warhawks. Notre Dame transfer catcher Tony Lindwedel has picked up seven hits in 15 at-bats for a .467 batting average while Isaiah Walker is hitting .391 with nine RBIs. Jake Haggard leads ULM with 10 RBIs and has powered two extra-base hits.
• Redshirt senior power hitting first baseman Michelle Artzberger is back as the top returner in runs scored (43), home runs (8) and RBIs (43). Artzberger was named to the 2022 SBC Championship All-Tournament Team and posted his highest single season average in 2024. He has belted 43 extra base hits in his ULM career and a career-long 55 game on base streak.
• Zach Shaw and Brandon Brewer have both not surrendered an earned run coming out of the bullpen for the Warhawks. Shaw has pitched seven scoreless innings and has struck out five while Brewer has struck out eight batters in 6.2 innings pitched. On the mound, ULM returns 10 players who saw time in 2024. Last Friday's starter Daniel Gonzalez threw a career-high six innings pitched and allowed just one earned run, completing his first career quality start versus Houston Christian. Gonzalez has struck out eight batters in 9.0 innings pitched. West Monroe High School true freshman Brennan Eager made his ULM debut last Tuesday versus Grambling and earned the win after throwing 4.0 innings pitched and striking out seven while allowing just one earned run and two hits.
UP NEXT
ULM will travel to Missouri State for a weekend series and the first road trip of the season starting on Friday (Feb. 28) with first pitch set for 3 p.m.
