Judd Edwards ignited an eighth-inning rally with a two RBI double, but it wasn’t enough as ULM fell to Arkansas State 7-5 on Friday night at Warhawk Field.
After falling behind 7-1 in the seventh inning, the Warhawks (14-24, 4-12) came to life in the bottom of the eighth.
An error by the Red Wolves (21-17, 7-9) sent Brandon Alexander to first. Dalton Todd and Trent Lucas followed with a pair of base hit singles. With the bases loaded, Edwards sent a blast deep in to left field to score two runs.
“We knew if we were gonna have a chance to win tonight we needed to scratch a couple runs,” Edwards said. “I got a good pitch and put a decent swing on it.”
Corben Green’s RBI groundout and an RBI single from Taylor Abdalla drove in two more runs before Arkansas State got out of the inning. ULM was unable to add more to its run total in the bottom of the ninth.
“That was the one inning we threatened and our guys did a good job of getting them across the plate,” head coach Jeff Schexnaider said.
The Warhawk pitchers suffered through a tough night on the mound, setting season-highs with 11 walks and four hit batters.
Cale Wine (4-6) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on six hits and six walks with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work.
“I was all over the place. It’s the first time it’s been like that all year and I hope it’s never like that again,” Wine said.
Jared Dye, Chad Miller and Andrew Richardson combined to finish the game in relief for ULM.
The Warhawks got on the board first in the second inning with an RBI groundout from Justin Stawychny that sent Dalton Herrington across the plate. Herrington got on base with a leadoff triple.
After the second inning, Arkansas State held ULM scoreless until the bottom of the eighth.
The Red Wolves plated four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Arkansas scored three more in the seventh without recording a single hit.
“We didn’t throw strikes and we gave them too many base runners,” Schexnaider said. “When you’ve got that many innings where you’re battling with base runners eventually they’re going to get one.”
Edwards led the Warhawks with one hit, two RBI’s and one scored run. Daniel Wright (4-3) earned the win for Arkansas State, surrendering only two earned runs on five hits to go along with six strikeouts.
The Warhawks face Mississippi Valley State in a two-game series beginning Tuesday, April 23. Game time is 6 p.m.
