BOONE, N.C. – ULM baseball (19-16, 7-6 Sun Belt) started a three-game series with a 13-5 loss to App State (18-14, 6-7 Sun Belt) Friday night.
 
The Warhawks scored five runs off eight hits, two of which left the ballpark. The Mountaineers produced 15 total hits on the night.
 
Both teams put a runner on in the first inning, but neither could score, with Adam Brodnax only needing ten pitches to send the Mountaineers down. The home team used a base hit and a hit by pitch to put two on with no one out in the second. A sacrifice bunt sent the two runners over, but a lineout and strikeout ended the threat, bringing Brodnax through two scoreless.
 
The Warhawks put runners at the corners with singles from Garrett Wiethorn and Davis Mauzy with no outs. A double play ball got two outs but allowed the runner at third to score, giving ULM a 1-0 lead. After a triple by Bryce Blaser, Jake Haggard hit a ball over the centerfielder's head to score another run, making the Warhawks' lead two.
 
App State put runners at the corners with one out before a sacrifice fly allowed the runner from third to score, making it a 2-1 ballgame after three. With two outs and a runner at second, Wiethorn lined a ball over the fence in left field, marking his third homer of the season, providing ULM with a three-run lead.
 
Two straight doubles to start the bottom of the fourth quickly put a run on the board for the Mountaineers. With two outs and runners at second and third, a wild pitch and a single into left center field scored both runners and tied the game at 4-4. Kameron Miller powered a homer into left field in the next inning to give App State the lead.
 
Marcua Aranda answered with his fifth homer in the past six games, tying the game at 5-5. With the solo shot, Aranda now leads the team in home runs with nine on the season. Two RBI-singles for the Mountaineers gave them back the lead, resulting in a 7-5 score after six innings.
 
Two more runs produced by a single increased the Mountaineers' lead to 9-5 at the bottom of the seventh inning. A Bryce Blaser walk put a runner on for the Warhawks before three straight outs ended the inning. Two bases loaded walks and a two-RBI singles plated four more for App State, resulting in a 13-5 score going into the ninth. ULM came up empty in the final inning, resulting in the eight-run defeat.
 
The Warhawks are back for game two tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET.