NEW ORLEANS. – The ULM softball team is packing its bags for Lafayette for the second week in a row, but this time- its for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. After finishing the regular season 24-28 overall and 10-17 in conference play, the Warhawks have earned themselves the eighth spot and will face number five seeded Troy in game one.
"Troy is a very talented team and well coached," said head softball coach
Corey Lyon. "They have a great squad this year."
ULM will be attending the tournament for the 11
th straight year.
"We believe we are capable of beating any one of the other teams in the tournament," Lyon said. "These girls have a lot of fight left in them and the season is far from over for us."
All information regarding the tournament, tickets, game times, etc. can be found at SunBeltSports.org the official website for the Sun Belt Conference.
FROM THE CONFERENCE OFFICE - The seeds and matchups for the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship have been determined following the conclusion of the conference's regular season on Sunday afternoon.
The championship begins on Wednesday, May 9 and concludes with the title game on Saturday, May 12. All games of the championship are set for exclusive coverage on ESPN+.
Texas State (39-13, 18-5 Sun Belt) captured its first Sun Belt regular-season title since joining the league beginning with the 2013-14 academic year. The Bobcats, ranked 23rd in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and 25th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, closed the regular season with wins in three of their last four games.
Hosting the championship at Alfred and Helen Lamson Park for the fifth time, Louisiana (36-13, 21-6) secured the No. 2 seed and a first-day bye with Texas State. The Ragin' Cajuns, ranked 21st in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and 23rd in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, have won three of the last Sun Belt Tournament titles and 14 overall since the championship began in 2000.
The championship gets underway on Wednesday with two single-elimination games – No. 5 seed Troy (30-24, 14-13) vs. No. 8 seed ULM (24-28, 10-17) at 10 a.m. (CT) and No. 6 seed South Alabama (28-25, 13-13) vs. No. 7 seed Georgia Southern (28-24, 12-15) at 12:30 p.m. (CT). The Troy-ULM winner plays No. 4 seed UTA (26-24, 14-12) at 3 p.m. (CT) and the South Alabama-Georgia Southern winner plays No. 3 seed Georgia State (30-22, 14-11) at 5:30 p.m. (CT).
The championship utilizes both a single-elimination format as well as a double-elimination format to determine the Sun Belt champion and recipient of the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. The first two games of the tournament utilize a single-elimination format. Beginning with Game 3, the tournament moves into a double-elimination format.
2018 SUN BELT SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
All Times Central and Subject to Change
Wednesday, May 9
Game 1 – #8 ULM vs. #5 Troy (ESPN+), 10:00 AM
Game 2 – #7 Georgia Southern vs. #6 South Alabama (ESPN+), 12:30 PM
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. #4 UTA (ESPN+), 3:00 PM
Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs. #3 Georgia State (ESPN+), 5:30 PM
Thursday, May 10
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. #1 Texas State (ESPN+), 10:00 AM
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. #2 Louisiana (ESPN+), 12:30 PM
Game 7 – Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Loser (ESPN+), 3:00 PM
Game 8 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser (ESPN+), 5:30 PM
Friday, May 11
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN+), 11:00 AM
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN+), 2:00 PM
Game 11 – Game 9 Loser vs. Game 10 Winner (ESPN+), 5:00 PM
Saturday, May 12
Game 12 - Championship Game (ESPN+), 1:00 PM
