MONROE, La. – Sophomore pitcher Daniel Gonzalez tossed eight shutout innings and junior relief pitcher Josh Gregoire finished the combined shutout with a scoreless ninth frame as the ULM baseball team defeated South Alabama, 4-0, in the series opener on Thursday (May 15) night at Lou St. Amant Field in Monroe, La.

The Warhawks (22-31, 8-20 Sun Belt) plated four runs in the bottom of the second inning from an RBI double by Angelo Aleman and a three-run home run by Isaiah Walker. That was all the run support Gonzalez needed as he shut down the Jaguars (21-28, 10-18 Sun Belt) offense with seven strikeouts.
 
Gonzalez worked around a one-out infield single and struck out his first batter of the night to end the top half of the first. Michelle Artzberger doubled for the ninth time of the season off the right-field wall with two outs for ULM's first hit of the night. Gonzalez picked off a South Alabama runner off second base that ended the top of the second frame. The ULM offense unloaded four runs in the bottom of the second inning with two outs from an RBI double off the bat of Aleman that snuck inside the third base line and scored Tony Lindwedel from first base. After a walk to put another Warhawk on base, Walker launched his sixth home run of the season and added to ULM's lead. Gonzalez punched out his second hitter of the night in a scoreless third. Henry Garcia Jr. doubled down the right field line for ULM's third extra-base hit of the night in the third.
 
The Warhawks wiped away a leadoff walk for the Jags with a 6-4-3 double play in the top of the fourth and Gonzalez sat down his third batter on a strikeout. In the top of the fifth, Gonzalez picked up his fourth strikeout for the second out of the inning and completed his fifth scoreless frame. Walker singled to start the bottom of the fifth and stole his 27th base of the season, which leads the SBC. Gonzalez mowed down the Jags in the sixth inning with a 1-2-3 inning that concluded with another punchout. Barham White singled to center field in the bottom of the sixth, but he was unable to cross home plate, and the Warhawks clung to its 4-0 lead.

Gonzalez managed traffic in the seventh inning after a one-out double and induced a fly out and a ground out in another scoreless inning. Kade Dupont became the sixth Warhawk to reach on a base hit with an infield single in the bottom of the seventh. Gonzalez trotted back to the mound for the top of the eighth inning and continued to fool hitters, starting the inning with consecutive strikeouts. After a Jaguar walked on a 3-2 offering, Gonzalez finished the inning by forcing South Alabama to ground into a fielder's choice, and Gonzalez ended his start by firing eight shutout innings, becoming the first Warhawk pitcher to throw eight or more scoreless innings since 2019.

Bryce Blaser singled through the left side on an 0-2 pitch for ULM's eighth hit of the night before the Jags recorded the final two outs. After Gregoire relieved Gonzalez in the top of the ninth, the first three South Alabama batters reached base and the Jaguars had the bases loaded with no outs. Gregoire emptied the tank and sat down the next two Jaguars on strikeouts and was one out away from completing the combined shutout. The next South Alabama hitter swung at the first pitch and hit a routine fly ball that settled into the mitt of Walker and the Warhawks completed the shutout in the series opener.

The ULM baseball team will celebrate Lou St. Amant Day and Senior Day on Friday (May 17) and continue the series versus South Alabama. The first 1,000 fans at the ballpark on Friday's game will receive a limited-edition Lou St. Amant Bobblehead. Stadium gates open at 4 p.m. with the senior day recognition at 5:25 p.m. Clara Rae will sing the national anthem before first pitch at 6 p.m.