MONROE, La. – A three-run homer from Jake Haggard and a four-spot at the bottom of the eighth inning gave way to a ULM baseball (7-5) 11-4 Saturday evening win over Western Illinois (3-6).
 
The Warhawks have now won five straight games and have scored double-digit runs in the last four. They have a +44-run differential in the winning streak.  
 
The Leathernecks struck first at the top of the first with a 376-foot shot to right field by Liam Bushey to put them up 1-0. The Warhawks put two runners on via a fielder's choice and a walk to threaten. Jake Haggard lined a ball into left field to bring Bryce Blaser home to tie the game.
 
WIU again brought traffic to the base pads with a leadoff single, but a double play kept the game scoreless. A Jackson Landry walk and a Marcus Aranda single put two runners on again for ULM. After a Garrett Wiethorn sacrifice bunt to move the runners over, Davis Mauzy produced a sacrifice fly to give the home team the lead. After a walk to Blaser, Kade Dupont collected an RBI-single to extend the lead to 3-1.
 
At the top of the third, a double down the right field line scored a run and cut the deficit to one. A single to center field brought another runner home and tied the game at 3-3. With one out in the bottom frame, Dayne Wray hit his third home run of the season, giving ULM the lead again.
 
WIU once again responded in the very next frame, using a sacrifice fly to tie the game up at 4-4 at the top of the fourth. The Warhawks went three-up, three-down in the bottom half to remain tied. With two outs at the top of the fifth, the Leathernecks used a double and a hit-by-pitch to put two runners on, but a Brandt Corley strikeout ended the scoring threat.
 
Both teams came up empty in the sixth inning to keep the game tied going into the seventh. Canaan Clayton struck out three in the top half of the inning to complete his second inning of relief. Mauzy singled and Blaser walked to put two on at the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Haggard blasted his third home run of the season to give ULM a 7-4 lead.
 
With two outs at the bottom of the eighth, the Warhawks used three consecutive hits to load the bases. A Wiethorn single, Dupont walk and a Haggard single scored four runs and gave the home team a seven-run lead. The Leathernecks came up with nothing at the top of the ninth as ULM sealed the series win.
 
Haggard led the team with six RBI on the day with three hits, as Dupont also collected a multi-RBI performance. Davis Mauzy also produced multiple hits with two in the contest. Canaan got the win with 2.1 innings pitched, two hits allowed and four strikeouts. Holden Hess earned the save with 1.2 innings pitched and three batters struck out.
 
The Warhawks will look to sweep the series against WIU tomorrow, with Sunday's game scheduled for 1 p.m.