The baseball team is showing it is ready to take off and battle for a shot at a Sun Belt title.
The team has shown the ability to get the big wins this season.
With decisive victories over Conference USA foes no. 28 Southern Mississippi, Tulane and Memphis, ULM appears to be on the right track.
An important factor for the Warhawks’ success so far is the ability to take the lead early and protect it. ULM is 5-1 when scoring first, but only 4-4 when allowing the opponent to get on board first.
In addition, when leading after six innings the team is 7-0, while 0-5 when trailing after six innings.
The biggest issue the team will have moving forward, however, is keeping its hitting and pitching in sync.
There have been too many instances of either pitchers giving up too many runs in a game, or clutch hitting being absent at the most crucial moments.
This has to change if the Warhawks want a shot at winning a conference title and getting a NCAA tournament invite.
Randy Zeigler is leading the way on the mound as a starter with a conference leading 25 strikeouts and 2.14 ERA. Meanwhile, Kendall Thamm allows less than three runs per nine innings and has picked up two saves from the bullpen, tying with Will Browning for the team lead.
Although there have been some untimely hiccups in pitching performance, the team is still only giving up a little more than four runs per game.
Offensively, ULM is putting up solid numbers. Joey Rapp is batting 0.367 with 12 RBIs and three homers. Rather than relying on brute strength, the team also plays small ball.
Les Aulds stole 10 bases to lead the conference, which is invaluable to the team, and will help them to edge out wins in close games.
The Warhawks have a big test coming up next weekend versus the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns.
The series will serve as a measuring stick for the team’s progress and hopes this season.
If ULM can win at least two of three games in that series, it will give the team enough confidence to go along with their talent.
Consistency is the key, and if the Warhawks don’t get into any prolonged losing streaks and avoid major injuries like last season, I expect them to win the conference crown.
