Mickey Storey and the Owls edged in opener at ULM Friday night

March 28, 2008

Box Score

Monroe, LA - Junior shortstop Ben Soignier, a local product from West Monroe and Louisiana's `Mr. Baseball' in 2004, went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and five RBI to lead Louisiana-Monroe past Florida Atlantic 7-6 in the opening game of a three-game weekend series Friday night at Warhawk Field.

Florida Atlantic (16-7; 6-2 SBC) lost its fourth one-run game of the year. Jeremy Griffiths had four hits and scored three runs to pace FAU, with Mike McKenna adding double and a pair of RBI.

Louisiana-Monroe (15-8; 8-2 SBC) has won eight of its first 10 in Sun Belt Conference play. ULM raced out to a 9-1 start to its conference season a year ago, its first in the Sun Belt.

Designated hitter Tom Hatcher spotted FAU starter Mickey Storey (2-2) a run in the top of the first by hitting a two-out RBI single up the middle, plating Griffiths who had doubled two batters earlier. Soignier hit a solo homerun in the first inning and teammates Kyle Suire and Dexter Fontenot followed with back-to-back doubles to give ULM an early one-run advantage.

Soignier had originally signed and spent a redshirt season at the University of Alabama before transferring to ULM prior to the 2006 season. His RBI single in the second inning was part of a two-run ULM frame that put the Warhawks in front 4-1.

After a fielding error allowed FAU to narrow the lead to one, Soignier hit his second home run of the game in the fourth, a three-run shot to left centerfield, extending the Warhawks lead to four, 7-3.

Neither Storey nor ULM starter Jared Jennings made it through five complete innings.

William Block, Griffiths and McKenna strung together three consecutive hits to chase Jennings before he could record and out in the FAU fifth. Closer Jared Ward (2-0), the Sun Belt saves leader, came on to record three consecutive outs, successfully negating what was shaping up to be a big inning for FAU.

Storey allowed 10 hits and seven runs while Jennings was charged with three earned runs on seven hits before giving way to Ward in the fifth.

Ward worked a season-high five innings in his tenth appearance. He allowed a leadoff single to Griffiths in the ninth, but it was immediately negated when Griffiths unsuccessfully tried to stretch it into a double and was gunned down and second.