• The ULM baseball team starts Sun Belt Conference play with a weekend series in Harrisonburg, Va. against James Madison. The series takes place from Friday, March 14 through Sunday, March 16. First pitch in Friday's opener is set for 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) while Saturday's game two will start at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET). Sunday's finale is set for noon CT (1 p.m. ET).

The Warhawks are winners of three-straight games starting with claiming game two of the series versus UT Alrington. Last time out, ULM earned its second run-rule win of the season with an 11-1 victory over Alcorn State on Tuesday. The Dukes have lost their last seven contests dating back to March 1. They most recently lost in a one-run game vs. Virginia Tech on Tuesday night.

This marks the first series between the Warhawks and Dukes. Both teams lost their opening conference series last season with ULM dropping two of three games to Troy and JMU losing two of three to Georgia State. 

• The series will air on KMLB.com and the TuneIn app with the Voice of the Warhawks, Mike Hammett, on the call. Live streaming will be available on ESPN+ with David Hulvey (play-by-play) and Jason Krech (analyst) on the call.

• 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).

• Senior shortstop Colby Lunsford leads the team with a .362 batting average and has scored 17 runs through 16 games. Isaiah Walker has ten runs scored with 12 RBI and seven stolen bases. Jake Haggard leads with 15 RBI and two triples on the year. 

• 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.

NEW FACES FOR A NEW SEASON IN 2025

ULM features 20 newcomers on its 2025 roster.

The Warhawks added a trio of catchers behind the plate including Notre Dame graduate student transfer Tony Lindwedel. The Saint Louis native played four seasons in South Bend, appearing in 27 games and making 12 starts behind the plate. Monroe native Zach White joins the team with his brother, Barham. White was a two-time Class 1A Louisiana State Champion at Ouachita Christian in 2021 and 2023 and also won the 2023 Class 1A Football State Championship. True freshman backstop Zeke Seoane was also added to the Warhawks' roster.

In the infield, ULM signed Angelo Aleman from the College of the Canyons and Celina High School prospect Major Brignon. UTSA transfer Isaiah Walker hit .273 in 37 games for the Roadrunners and had seven multi-hit games his sophomore season before transferring to ULM. Colby Lunsford, Jake Haggard and Kade Dupont all return to the infield for the Warhawks. Three new outfielders arrive in Monroe, including freshman Ben Coke, Chaffey College transfer Jacob Billings and Howard College Transfer Henry Garcia Jr. Dual threat pitcher and hitter Sam Skarich arrives from Southeastern Community College in Iowa after winning a Rawlings Gold Glove Award and being voted Conference Reliver of the Year and Northwoods League All-Star. Skarich hit .329 at the plate with five home runs and 33 RBIs and added 23 strikeouts on the mound with a 2.35 ERA his final season at Southeastern CC.

Former Warhawk Jayson Zmejkoski was added to the coaching staff as a student assistant coach. "JZ" appeared in 81 games during his two seasons at ULM and posted a batting average of .257.

LOCAL CONNECTIONS

The 2025 ULM baseball roster features six players who played high school baseball inside Ouachita (wah-shuh-tah) Parish. The roster includes three pitchers from Sterlington High School in redshirt junior pitcher Seaver Sheets, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Brandon Brewer, senior left-handed pitcher Adam Tubbs; two players from Ouachita Christian in freshman catcher Zach White and junior catcher Barham White; one player from West Monroe High School in freshman left-handed pitcher Brennan Eager; and one player from Ouachita High School in senior right-handed pitcher Zach Shaw.

RANKINGS SUMMARY

As a team, ULM checks in the top three of the Sun Belt Conference leaderboard in stolen bases per game (1st, 1.94), total stolen bases (2nd, 31) and fielding percentage (3rd, .969). In Tuesday's 11-1 win over Alcorn State, the Warhawks broke the single-game program record for stolen bases and swiped 14 bags versus the Braves.

Henry Garcia Jr. and Isaiah Walker both have stolen seven bases this season, which is the third-highest mark in the SBC. Colby Lunsford's three triples rank third in the SBC and eighth in the nation, while Jake Haggard has blasted two triples, fifth in the league and 36th in the country. 

On the mound, Joey Cirelli leads the SBC in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 10.50, and has struck out 21 batters while surrendering just two walks. Daniel Gonzalez's 6.19 hits allowed per nine innings ranks seventh in the conference.


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