10th Place: ULM Warhawks Last year: 23-36 (11-19 8th SBC)

Head Coach: Bruce Peddie (2nd Season, 1st full season)

The Basics: ULM is almost impossible to pick. Last year's 8th place league team could easily finish in an SBC tourney spot, but there are lots and lots of question behind a team that made one of those remarkable turnarounds in the country last year.

So what about this last year thing? Sitting at 1-8 in the SBC and with something like 5 wins overall out of over 20 games, the Warhawks were going nowhere fast. The numbers were remarkably awful. Pitching staff had an ERA over 6. Offense was hitting around .230. The Solution? Fire the head coach. ULM made a rare midseason change appointing Bruce Pettie as the interim head coach. How did he do? Very well. Offensive batting average went up over .40 points. Pitiching Staff ERA went down a full run. Team win 10 of their last 21 league games, and snuck into the league tournament on the seasons last day. Despite facing Rival ULL for the 7th time in the tourney, the Hawks managed to send WKU to CUSA with a loss, and ended the year on a general high note.

He's BAAACK: The Top 4 hitters for the Warhawks return including the will he ever Graduate? Justin Stawichny (.279 BA 7 HR's) and Keelin Rasch (.289 4 HR's 27 RBI) Ross Moore and Kodie Tidwell, who formed a fearsome Middle of the order tandem are also back. Don't let the averages fool you. These guys were hovering around .200 pre Peddie, and finished in the .330's post Peddie. Either the entire team took steroids, or they hated their old coach. I am going with the latter.

So What's the Problem: One Word: Pitching: Last Year's One Sure Fire MLB prospect at pitcher in Tyler Bray is thankfully gone. Their other primary starters in Chris Hunt and Alex Hermeling are both back, however neither were incredibly effictive last year. Hermeling finished with a 6 ERA, and Hunt about 5.12. Both had High walk rates and low strike out rates. Those are numbers that don't just scream "Coming out party in 2015" Now, this will be a very experienced team, but the question becomes, how do they compete in a league that has gotten better as well? Even with the incredible offensive numbers put up last year late, this pitching staff was very below average, and they lost their top pitcher by far.

New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

Outlook: I could miss this terribly. If the Warhawks can pitch, they will win, and probably finish middle half of the league. If they cannot pitch, than we are looking at another team fighting for a last minute SBC Tourney berth. I just cannot rank them higher without a proven Friday or Saturday starter available. I see my bottom 4 in the league as very close overall, so any of these could be interchangeable as the season goes on.

What's Next: Team #9 will be released tomorrow afternoon.

This was a difficult preview to write. ULM's numbers were so different from one half the year to the other, it made determining statistics very difficult.

It will be interesting to see because there is no rallying around the new guy. Kind of like the backup qb, everyone's hero until the job is his and he is no longer the backup.

ULM's Home Park: Warhawk Field









Chiefsfan's take: Warhawk Field is one of the hidden gem's of the Sun Belt Conference. No matter how much stick we give ULM for their football stadium, baseball is very nice. It kind of goes unnoticed because of the parks at ULL, TX State, USA, and now GS, but it's certainly very nice. Doesn't have the grand features that the nicer parks do, but it's a solid ballpark, and a nice place to watch baseball...

Park plays smaller than you would think. It's not tiny like UALR, but it's fairly friendly to hitters, without being too difficult on pitchers.

(02-03-2015 11:25 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  ULM's Home Park: Warhawk Field









Chiefsfan's take: Warhawk Field is one of the hidden gem's of the Sun Belt Conference. No matter how much stick we give ULM for their football stadium, baseball is very nice. It kind of goes unnoticed because of the parks at ULL, TX State, USA, and now GS, but it's certainly very nice. Doesn't have the grand features that the nicer parks do, but it's a solid ballpark, and a nice place to watch baseball...

Park plays smaller than you would think. It's not tiny like UALR, but it's fairly friendly to hitters, without being too difficult on pitchers.

As a Cajun fan, I can honestly say I like the grandstand better than the Tigue. The fan support has gotten much better over the years and it's a well supported and vocal fan base. I've been a few times and enjoyed the park. I'm hoping the funding can be finalized in the next 6 months for the 10-12 million renovation for the Tigue, which I think has one of the best fan experiences in the country. If you haven't visited during baseball season, you need to make the trip. Come by the tailgating tents and visit.

[quote='chiefsfan' pid='11729810' dateline='1423020350']
New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Conner's older brother, Logan, played for ULM 2012-13 as a catcher.

(02-04-2015 04:29 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  [quote='chiefsfan' pid='11729810' dateline='1423020350']
New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Conner's older brother, Logan, played for ULM 2012-13 as a catcher.

It's still the greatest name for a pitcher ever. Its screaming for a Fiasco reference the first time he walks the bases loaded.

(02-04-2015 04:32 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:29 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  [quote='chiefsfan' pid='11729810' dateline='1423020350']
New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Conner's older brother, Logan, played for ULM 2012-13 as a catcher.

It's still the greatest name for a pitcher ever. Its screaming for a Fiasco reference the first time he walks the bases loaded.

We thought the same thing when Logan would come up to bat (although he was a good hitter). It was always funny to hear the radio guy say something along the lines of "ULM has (a) Fiasco at the plate"...crazy mental images would appear! If he struck out...well, you know...

(02-04-2015 05:17 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:32 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:29 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  [quote='chiefsfan' pid='11729810' dateline='1423020350']
New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Conner's older brother, Logan, played for ULM 2012-13 as a catcher.

It's still the greatest name for a pitcher ever. Its screaming for a Fiasco reference the first time he walks the bases loaded.

We thought the same thing when Logan would come up to bat (although he was a good hitter). It was always funny to hear the radio guy say something along the lines of "ULM has (a) Fiasco at the plate"...crazy mental images would appear! If he struck out...well, you know...

Another Fiasco Fiasco? :-)

(02-04-2015 05:17 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:32 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:29 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  [quote='chiefsfan' pid='11729810' dateline='1423020350']
New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Conner's older brother, Logan, played for ULM 2012-13 as a catcher.

It's still the greatest name for a pitcher ever. Its screaming for a Fiasco reference the first time he walks the bases loaded.

We thought the same thing when Logan would come up to bat (although he was a good hitter). It was always funny to hear the radio guy say something along the lines of "ULM has (a) Fiasco at the plate"...crazy mental images would appear! If he struck out...well, you know...

A good hitter? Did he ever hit over .220?

(02-04-2015 05:17 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:32 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:29 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  [quote='chiefsfan' pid='11729810' dateline='1423020350']
New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Conner's older brother, Logan, played for ULM 2012-13 as a catcher.

It's still the greatest name for a pitcher ever. Its screaming for a Fiasco reference the first time he walks the bases loaded.

We thought the same thing when Logan would come up to bat (although he was a good hitter). It was always funny to hear the radio guy say something along the lines of "ULM has (a) Fiasco at the plate"...crazy mental images would appear! If he struck out...well, you know...

A good hitter? Did he ever hit over .200

(02-04-2015 08:06 PM)BirdofParadise Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 05:17 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:32 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 04:29 PM)SOT1977 Wrote:  [quote='chiefsfan' pid='11729810' dateline='1423020350']
New Faces: Peddie has brought in a fair number of JUCO's, especially on the mound to try and counter their major weak spot. I like the numbers out of Mason Liles (2.70 ERA out of JUCO) and they have the single greatest name for a pitcher in Conner Fiasco. But I don't see a sure fire Ace again with this staff. Something that is desprately needed in what is a pitching rich league. Also, keep an eye on Justin Crouch, who had a .387 average over 2 years of JUCO ball wth 10 triples.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Conner's older brother, Logan, played for ULM 2012-13 as a catcher.

It's still the greatest name for a pitcher ever. Its screaming for a Fiasco reference the first time he walks the bases loaded.

We thought the same thing when Logan would come up to bat (although he was a good hitter). It was always funny to hear the radio guy say something along the lines of "ULM has (a) Fiasco at the plate"...crazy mental images would appear! If he struck out...well, you know...

A good hitter? Did he ever hit over .200

Compared to me, he was a good hitter. BOP, was it that important to you to ask? He was not all-conference material by a long shot but even a .200 hitter has his moments and that's what I remember from his playing days. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence but I respect everyone who plays the game because I wish I still could, whether "good" or not.

My comments centered more on his name. I was not singing praises of his playing abilities.

Well, compared to me, he was Johnny Bench. But you did say he was a good hitter. I thought he had some defensive skills but I checked. The answer to my question was no.