Monroe, La. – A rally at the bottom of the seventh inning propelled ULM baseball (11-9, 2-0 Sun Belt) to an 8-5 win over Texas State (12-6, 0-2 Sun Belt) Saturday night.
 
"Really proud of the team, players and coaches," head coach Ford Pemberton said. "It was a good series win."
 
Dayne Wray and Zach White both collected solo home runs on the night. It's Wray's seventh of the season and White's first of his career.
 
The Bobcats struck first at the top of the first inning with two runs scoring on a ball lined to left field. Micah Dean produced a hit in the bottom frame and stole a base to get into scoring position, but two outs ended the threat.
 
With a runner on first base at the top of the second, a 6-4-3 double play kept the TXST lead at two runs. Dayne Wray doubled to start the bottom of the inning to get to second before a wild pitch moved him to third. Marcus Aranda put a ball on the ground, and a fielding and throwing error scored Wray to put ULM on the board with a 2-1 score.
 
After a scoreless frame to start the third, Bryce Blaser doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch, but a strikeout ended the scoring opportunity. Wray opened the bottom of the fourth inning with a lead-off home run, traveling 393 feet to tie the game.
 
"Dayne Wray just continues to do what he does," Pemberton said. "He loves the moment."
 
Marcus Aranda walked and advanced to second and third on two wild pitches. Another wild pitch allowed him to score and gave ULM the lead. Zach White followed that up with a solo shot to left field, marking his first career homer and putting the Warhawks up two with a 4-2 score.
 
"Zach's been doing a really good job," Pemberton said. "He does all of the things that we ask of him offensively and behind the plate."
 
The Bobcats responded in the very next frame as Jackson Cotton powered a home run to center field to tie the game. A Dawson Park double scored another run to give the away team control at 5-4.
 
Both teams came up scoreless in the sixth inning to keep the margin at a single run. At the bottom of the seventh, Mauzy led off with a single before Blaser lined a double down the right field line to score the former from first base to tie the game. Jake Haggard produced a double to the gap in left center to score Blaser and give the Warhawks the lead at 6-5.
 
An Aranda walk loaded the bases with two outs. Kade Dupont came up clutch and lined a single to shallow center field to score two more for the home team, resulting in an 8-5 score. Holden Hess blanked the Bobcats for the final two frames, securing the win and the series for ULM.
 
"What a job by Hess coming in," Pemberton said. "That's exactly what the bullpen needed."
 
Hess collected his first win of the season, pitching four innings and collecting three strikeouts while allowing no runs. Offensively, Blaser, Wray and White all had multi-hit games while Dupont produced two RBI. Mauzy also collected a hit, extending his hitting streak to 20 games.
 
"I tell the guys that we expect to win these games," Pemberton said. "I thought that our guys really did that tonight."
 
The Warhawks play the series finale tomorrow at Lou St. Amant Field with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.