MONROE, La. – With a six-spot in the third inning, the ULM Warhawks (27-27, 12-17 Sun Belt) comfortably claimed the game two victory over Troy (28-27, 16-13 Sun Belt).
JC Dermody pitched the full seven innings, striking out seven in the process for his second complete game of the season, also the team's second.
Aaron Piasecki led off with a single for the Trojans, looking to make similar damage as in game 1. But a strikeout from
JC Dermody and two more retired batters ended the attempt. On the Warhawk end, an early out was no match for four-straight hits to drive in two runs.
Bryce Blaser doubled to get in scoring position as
Jake Haggard drove in his 57
th RBI of the season. Another hit from
Marcus Aranda got two runners on as
Kade Dupont's 14
th double drove in the second run of the opening inning for the 2-0 lead.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Troy with no outs, as Sean Darnell grounded into a double play to keep the Warhawks in control. A run was scored in the process, but a lineout prevented the tying run and kept ULM in front. A leadoff hit-by-pitch had
Jake Griffith on base, but three outs closed off the scoring opportunity.
The Warhawks captured two outs against the Trojans in the third, before two landed on. Dermody struck out the final batter to close things off before the bats got hot. Back-to-back walks opened the bottom frame, as
Kade Dupont drove in a run off a single. Two more walks loaded the bases and subsequently drove in another run.
Davis Mauzy then singled to score two more runs in the third. With two outs on the board,
Bryce Blaser recorded his 16
th double of the season to score two more for the six-spot in the third, getting the home team ahead 8-1.
A walk landed a runner on in the top of the fourth, but three retired batters stranded him. Back on the offense, ULM's hot bats continued as two singles landed two on.
Jake Griffith then doubled to drive in two more runs to get the Warhawks to an even 10. With the nine-run edge, ULM tried to subdue the Trojans. Two walks brought hope to the visitors, but a fourth strikeout from Dermody prevented a score for the third consecutive inning. In the bottom frame, a single led off the Warhawks. With two outs away, Dupont doubled to drive in another run. To make it a dozen,
Micah Dean claimed the hit for the 12-1 lead through five.
Drew Nelson led off with a home run for Troy, scoring the second run of the contest. Three-straight flyouts shut down additional scoring attempts. In the bottom of the sixth, a leadoff walk got one on base, as three outs left the Warhawks without a score. Even as Troy led off with a single in the bottom of the seventh, Dermody struck out his fifth and sixth batters to get the first out. The final putout to first base ended the game in seven innings, ULM on top, 12-2.
Four Warhawks recorded multi-hit games,
Bryce Blaser and
Kade Dupont leading the way with three apiece. Dupont also led the team with three RBIs to his name.
Marcus Aranda and
Micah Dean added to the tally with two-hit games. Five doubles bring the team total to 116, as Blaser and Dupont claimed two each, firing on all cylinders.
JC Dermody went the full way with seven innings, 140 pitches and six strikeouts.
The Warhawks will be back to conclude the series and the regular season against Troy at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will also recognize all 15 seniors on the roster prior to first pitch.
