RUSTON, La. ? The ULM softball team got runners on base, but struggled to cross the plate and dropped a pair of games on opening day. The Warhawks fell to 24th-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette in the opener of the Louisiana Tech Invitational, 6-0, before falling 4-0 against the host-Techsters in the final game of the day.
ULM (0-2) collected 11 hits on the day, but a big inning by each the Ragin' Cajuns and Lady Techsters provided the winning scores.
In the opener, senior Lindsay Rittenhouse held the big bats of ULL (2-0) in check until a three-run homerun in the third inning provided the Ragin' Cajuns with all the offense they would need. Louisiana-Lafayette would add a single run in each the fourth, fifth and sixth innings for the final 6-0 score.
Rittenhouse was saddled with the loss in the opening game.
In the second game, sophomore Kandace Causey took to the circle for the Warhawks and was cruising along until the third inning when Louisiana Tech (1-1) exploded for four runs, their only offense of the game.
A pair of freshmen came on in relief and shut down the Lady Techsters offense over the final three innings, but the damage had already been done. Freshmen Heather Fritz and Jessica Wideman limited LT to just one hit down the stretch.
Erica Darden and Megan Miller finished the day with a pair of hits each.
ULM closes play at the Louisiana Tech Invitational on Sunday afternoon when it plays Louisiana-Tech in Ruston at 4 p.m.
