Box Score (PDF)

CONWAY, S.C. – Tenth-seeded ULM used a six-run sixth inning to defeat No. 7 University of South Alabama baseball 12-7 Tuesday in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at Springs Brooks Stadium.

After South Alabama (30-26) plated five runs in the bottom of the fifth for a 6-3 lead, ULM (25-29) responded with six runs on four hits for a 9-6 advantage. The Jags scored a run in the sixth, but the Warhawks added three insurance runs in the top of the eighth, en route to a 12-7 win which eliminated USA from the Sun Belt Tournament.
 
GAME FACTS
- ULM scored the game's first run in the top of the first inning on a one-out RBI single to left-center field by Andrew Beesley that plated Trent Tingelstad, who reached on a one-out single earlier in the inning, for a 1-0 advantage.
- ULM loaded the bases with one out in the top of the third. Braedon Barrett led off the inning with a single, and moved to second with no outs on a single by Joey Jordan. A one-out walk by Chad Bell loaded the bases with one out for Beesley, who reached on an infield RBI single to first to plate Barrett and double the Warhawk lead at 2-0.
- USA cut the ULM lead in half in the bottom of the fourth. Dakota Dailey led off the inning with a single to right field, moved to second on a groundout to first advanced to third on an infield single to shortstop by Kaleb DeLaTorre, and scored on the play when Warhawk shortstop Jordan's throw sailed wide of third to allow Dailey to score the first Jaguar run of the game and cut the ULM lead to 2-1.
- The Warhawks answered in the top of the fifth on an RBI double to right field by Tingelstad for a 3-1 lead.
- South Alabama responded in the bottom of the fifth. Santi Montiel and Ethan Wilson reached on consecutive singles to start the inning before Michael Sandle delivered an RBI double down the left field line to score Montiel and cut the Warhawk lead to 3-2. Wells Davis followed with an RBI single to center field to score Montiel and tie the game at 3-3. Sandle also scored on the play when ULM center fielder Barrett mishandled the ball for a 4-3 Jaguar advantage. Nick Lewis delivered a one-out RBI single up the middle later in the inning to score Davis for a 5-3 USA lead. A two-out RBI single up the middle by Reid Powers doubled the Jaguar lead at 6-3.
- ULM cut the USA lead to 6-5 in the top of the sixth on a one-out, two-run single to right-center field by Barrett. A walk by Tingelstad loaded the bases with one out before a wild pitch from Jaguar right-hander Chase Lambert allowed Barrett to score and tie the game at 6-6. Bell followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Jordan, who reached on a single earlier in the inning, for a 7-6 ULM lead. Beesley then drew a walk to load the bases with one out for Ryan Humeniuk, who reached on a fielder's choice on a grounder to third, which DeLaTorre fired to the plate for the second out of the frame. Cameron Horton then drew a pinch-hit, bases-loaded walk with two outs for an 8-6 ULM advantage. Masen Prososki followed with a bases-loaded walk to extend the ULM lead to 9-6.
- South Alabama responded in the bottom of the sixth. Sandle reached on a one-out single, moved to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a two-out RBI single to right-center field by Dailey to cut the ULM lead to 9-7.
- A two-out, two-run single to right field by Logan Wurn extended the Warhawk lead to 11-7 in the top of the eighth inning. Jordan delivered an RBI single to center field later in the inning to score the game's final run.

NOTES
- Montiel extended his on-base streak to nine games with a one-out walk in the bottom of the third, and extended his hitting streak to nine games with a leadoff infield single to shortstop in the bottom of the fifth.
- Dailey extended his on-base streak to 10 games with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth. 
- All nine Jaguar starters hit safely in the game, led by Sandle who went 3-for-5 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored, and Dailey who finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
- The ULM bullpen limited USA to two runs on seven hits in five innings.

Head Coach Mark Calvi
- Opening Statement:
"Congratulations to Coach (Mike) Federico, and his staff and team. They (ULM) played a better game than we did today. I thought the story of the ballgame were the nine free passes that we issued to them, and the two they issued to us – each team had 16 hits, but they did some work with some free passes we gave them. They were opportunistic and they pitched better than we did today. We fought hard and came back in the bottom of the fifth and scored five, and went out and immediately walked the leadoff guy in the top of the sixth, and they scored six there; it was tough to recover from that. Our guys kept fighting, it was just tough to recover from that. Credit ULM, they played better than we did today."

- On how the team finished the season:
"We closed very strong. Five or six weeks ago we were 5-10 (in conference play), and we finished 11-4. Our backs were up against the wall, and we had a lot of new and young guys playing. At some point there were three or four freshman and a couple of sophomores on the field. Some younger guys did some really good things, and some seniors did some really nice things for us. Some guys, individually, had some good years. It's not the program year that we are used to, but I like what we have coming back and the playing time some of the younger guys had this year. It bodes well moving forward for the program."

- On the offense:
"I thought both teams swung the bats well. When you get that many hits, it's who gives away the most free passes; the team that gives away the freest bases loses, and that's a high percentage of the time. We gave ULM some free bases today, and they were opportunistic and did a good job with it."

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