***Junior Erica Darden's hit in the sixth inning of game one, originally ruled a double, has been ammended to reflect her scoring on the errorless play. Her first home run of the season, Darden's inside the park grand slam came on her 21st-birthday and gave the West Monroe, La.-native a career-high five RBI in the game. Darden finished the doubleheader with six total RBI and a 3-for-9 performance from the plate.***
JACKSON, Miss. ? The Warhawk bats exploded in a big way and Rosemary Holloway-Hill picked up her 600th-career coaching victory at ULM in a doubleheader sweep against Jackson State on Wednesday night.
ULM (9-14, 1-2 Sun Belt) started the evening with a pair of home runs and a no-hitter inside the circle to post a 7-0 win in the opener. The Warhawks received a similar dominant pitching performance and used an offensive barrage late to post an 8-1 win in the second game and complete the sweep.
“We played two very solid games today,” Holloway-Hill said. “Our entire line-up made solid contact and we got two great pitching performances. Kandace set the tone for us early and we were able to stay composed and get a pair of wins over a very tough opponent. It is a real honor for me to get my 600th win at ULM this way.”
The two teams were locked in a pitchers dual in the opener until the third inning when junior Erica Darden forced in a run with an RBI groundout. The 1-0 lead would be all Causey (4-5) would need.
ULM added a pair of runs in the fourth inning after homers from freshman Brianna Love and sophomore Michelle Farrell-Fink. Love's home run was her sixth of the season while Farrell-Fink connected on the first of her career for a 3-0 lead.
The Warhawks would make one final push in the opener, loading the bases in the top of the sixth inning before Darden doubled with one out to drive in all three. Darden finished the opener with four RBI.
Causey fanned three in the seventh around a hit-by-pitch to finish the game with a career-high 13 strikeouts. She allowed three total base runners in registering her first career no-hitter.
In the second game it was more of the same for the Warhawks as ULM started slow on offense, holding a 3-1 lead through the first six innings for freshman starter Heather Fritz (2-1).
ULM exploded in the top of the seventh inning, picking up RBI hits by three individuals including a two-run double by Love to turn a close game into an 8-1 rout.
Fritz retired the side in order in the bottom half of the frame and ended the game allowing only one unearned run off a pair of hits while fanning a career-high eight batters. Fritz also finished with her first career complete game in the circle for ULM.
The Warhawks return to action on Saturday when they host Troy in Sun Belt Conference action at the ULM Softball Complex starting at 4 p.m. The Warhawks and Trojans will play a pair on Saturday before wrapping up the three-game series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
