MONROE, La. - Kandace Causey threw her third career no-hitter and Roxy Cassel smashed a grand slam, as the ULM softball team
split their Sun Belt Conference season-opening doubleheader with North Texas. The
Mean Green used a home run in the eighth frame to grab a 7-6 victory in the
opener, before the Warhawks evened the series with an 8-0 run-rule victory in
the nightcap.
Causey (2-3) was dominating in the victory,
as she struck out a season-high eight batters in a complete game effort. The
Warhawk offense exploded in the contest with eight runs on 12 hits, including a
pair of sacrifice hits.
ULM (8-10, 1-1) fell behind 6-1 in the
opening game, before responding with five runs in the bottom of the seventh
inning. After a Melissa Rivera score, Cassel crushed a 1-0 pitch deep over the
left-field fence to push the game into an extra frame. North Texas answered with
a Lisa Johnson home run to give itself the victory.
"We didn't come out focused in the first game
at all," head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill said. "I am still disappointed in
the way we played that first game, but am happy with their fight. We can beat
any team in the conference if we play well, but we need to be focused every
game."
Rivera paced all Warhawk hitter with four
base knocks, while four other batters tallied three base hits. Brianna Love and
Amanda Sartoris led the squad with three runs scored, while Cassel drove five
runs across the plate. ULM finished with three doubles and Love recorded her
third home run of the season in the opening game.
"I am pleased with our ability to be
resilient and bounce back in the face of adversity," Holloway-Hill said. "Kandace
looked like she was in mid-season form and Roxy had a huge hit [grand slam] for
us in the first game. They key is to have our pitching and hitting clicking on
the same cylinder."
Game
One Recap:
The Warhawks overcame five defensive miscues
and tied the game with a grand slam in the bottom the seventh inning, but it
wasn't enough as the Mean Green earned the win with a home run in the eighth.
Rebecca Waters and Renae Bromley paced North
Texas (8-9, 1-1) with two hits apiece. Bromley also led all Mean Green batters
with three RBIs. North Texas left 10 runners on base, but overcame it three
home runs.
Ashley Lail (3-3) picked up the win after
throwing 6.1 innings and striking out six. She walked two, gave up three hits
and allowed three runs, one earned.
Rivera and Sarah Carriger each finished
2-for-4 in the Warhawk lineup, while Love scored twice and blasted a homer. Cassel
highlighted ULM's hitting with a grand slam to extend the game.
North Texas struck the scoreboard first in
the top of the fourth inning with a pair of runs after Bromley laced a two-out
single up the middle. Jessica Shields and Anna Barren both scored on the base
hits after entering as pinch runners. The frame was extended because of a
fielding and throwing error by the Warhawks.
The Mean Green added two more runs to go
ahead 4-0 after six-and-a-half innings of play. Monica Hirsch began the frame
with a single down the right-field line, before advancing to second on a
groundout. She would eventually score on a Bromley single to center field.
Hirsch later scored in the inning on a wild pitch.
Love put the Warhawks on the scoreboard with
her third home run of the season, a shot over the center-field wall.
North Texas answered with a pair of home runs
over the left-field wall to expand its lead back to 6-1. Mallory Cantler drove
a 1-0 pitch just over the fence to begin the inning and two batters later
Waters drilled a 0-1 pitch deep over the wall.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the
seventh, Carriger lined a RBI single up the middle to push Rivera across the
plate for ULM's second run of the game. Cassel followed two pitches later with
a two-out grand slam to tie the game at six runs apiece.
Lisa Johnson scored the eventual winning run
with a leadoff home run deep over the left-field wall to give North Texas the
victory in the first game of the series.
Heather Fritz (2-3) was tagged with the loss
in relief after allowing one run on two hits. She did strikeout three in 1.2
innings in the circle.
Game Two
Recap:
Causey dominated North Texas hitters all game
with a variety of off speed and fastball pitches, as finished with four 1-2-3
innings and threw just 79 pitches in the six inning affair. She received eight
runs of support in the victory.
Four different Warhawk hitters recorded two
base hits, while Sartoris led the way with three runs scored.
ULM tacked on a run in the second and two
tallies in the third inning to go ahead 3-0. Sartoris scored an unearned run
after a Mean Green fielding error in the second. She reached on a fielder's choice
and was pushed to second on Rivera's single through the right side.
Salanoa and Sartoris scored the Warhawks
second and third run in the third on a North Texas fielding error. With the two
scores, ULM went ahead 3-0.
The Warhawks exploded for five runs in the sixth
inning after recording six base hits, five of which were consecutive. Cassel highlighted
the frame with a RBI double off the top of the center-field wall. The five runs
pushed the Warhawks in front 8-0 and gave themselves a run-rule victory.
Brittany Simmons (2-3) was given the loss
after allowing three runs, all unearned, on four hits. She struck out one
Warhawk batter, but walked three.
ULM and North Texas will battle in the rubber
game of the series on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Warhawks' softball complex.
