ULM scored nine runs in the seventh and eight innings to blow past South Alabama 10-4 Friday night in the Sun Belt series opener at Stanky Field.
The Warhawks, who entered the week sixth in the nation in hits, were held without a base runner over the first 5 1/3 innings of the game, but Nick Wade opened the flood gates with a solo home run to left field in the top of the sixth inning.
ULM improves to 31-15 on the season and runs its conference leading record out to 19-6. The overall win total is the most since 2001 when the Warhawks won 36 games. South Alabama falls to 26-20 overall and
11-11 in the Sun Belt.
Warhawks have now scored 10 or more runs in 11 of their past 15 games dating back to the series opener at Louisiana-Lafayette on April 11.
ULM starter Drew Graham (2-2) shut down the Jaguars over 7 1/3 innings allowing just a pair of solo home runs back-to-back in the third inning. He struck out eight batters on the game picking up his first win since a 3-2 decision over Florida Atlantic on March 29.
The Warhawks seized control of the game with four runs in the seventh inning and then tacked on five more in the eighth. The five-run eighth was the 21st time this season that ULM has scored five or more runs in an inning.
Wade finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs while Matt Collins was
2-for-4 with a pair of runs driven in.
Ben Soignier led off the seventh with a double down the line in left field for the Warhawks second hit of the game. Kyle Suire battled at the plate drawing a seven-pitch walk and Dexter Fontenot was hit in the back to load the bases.
Soignier scored twice on the night moving into third place on the ULM single-season runs scored list with 67. He entered the week leading the nation averaging 1.52 runs per game.
A.J. Siggers tied the game drawing a walk off South Alabama starter Eric Gonzalez and Ryan McMillan gave ULM a 3-2 lead with a sacrifice fly to right field. Collins extended the lead out to 4-2 with his 45th RBI of the season.
Wade making just his fourth start since March 28 pushed the lead out to 5-2 with the Warhawks second sacrifice fly of the inning to right field. ULM entered the week 18th in the nation with 26 sac flies on the season.
McMillan upped his RBI output on the night to three with a two-run single to center field scoring Fontenot and Suire. Siggers drew his second bases loaded walk of the game one batter before and Collins pushed the lead out to 9-2 with a single through the right side of the infield one batter later.
Gonzalez (6-5) finished the game allowing nine runs eight earned
on five hits through 7 1/3 innings of work taking the loss for South Alabama.
Bunky Kateon hit the Jaguars? third home run of the night a two run shot in the ninth inning closing the gap to 10-4.
The teams continue the three-game series tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The game will be televised live by CSS and on a tape-delay basis by Cox Sports Television (Louisiana). The Warhawks will send Kyle Smith (3-1, 2.59) to the bump while the Jaguars will counter with Kevin Nabors (5-3, 4.86).