MONROE, La. - Tiffany Mills and Kandace
Causey each threw superb games in the circle, as the ULM softball team split a
doubleheader with Sun Belt Conference foe Troy on Saturday afternoon. The
Trojans claimed the first game of the day 4-0 in nine innings, before the
Warhawks earned a 4-1 victory in the second game.
Causey had a no-hitter through six innings
before it was broken up by a Troy single to begin the seventh inning. She finished
with seven strikeouts in the nine inning complete game effort. Sarah Carriger
led ULM (12-12, 2-3) in the defeat with a 3-for-4 performance that included her
fourth double of the season.
"We battled hard in the first game, but it
was unfortunate we didn't get the win," head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill. "The
bottom line is that we didn't get a clutch hit when we needed to. Overall, it
was just a tough game to handle mentally."
During the second game of the afternoon Mills
also went the distance to pick up the victory. She finished with six strikeouts
and gave up just two hits and one unearned run. After Troy (18-15, 6-3) scored
in the first, Mills allowed just three baserunners over the final six innings.
"After a first game loss like we endured, I
am glad to see our resiliency and ability to fight back," Holloway-Hill said. "Tonight
was the first time that Tiffany had command of her pitches and she threw
quality pitches compared to the past games this season."
Sarah Carriger led all Warhawk hitters with a
4-for-7 performance on the day and five total bases. Roxy Cassel tallied two
hits, while Brianna Love stole her eighth base of the season.
Game
One Recap:
Causey and Williams went head-to-head in a
pitcher's duel during a nine-inning contest. Nikki Hollett broke up the no-no
for ULM in the seventh inning and Troy broke the game open with four runs in
the top of the ninth frame to earn the victory.
Carriger finished with three hits for ULM,
while Cassel and Katie Girardi also tallied a base hit.
Roxy Paige led Troy with a 1-for-2 game, to
go along with a run scored. Sarah Shields finished with a base hit and a game-high
two-RBIs.
Williams (14-11) struck out 12 Warhawk
hitters on 135 pitches during the nine inning complete game victory. She walked
none and gave up five hits in the shutout.
Michelle Farrell-Fink and Carriger each made
spectacular defense efforts in the contest to preserve the no-hitter until the
seventh inning. Troy had two baserunners - one on a walk and one on a fielding
error - during the first six innings of the game. Causey held the Trojans to
four 1-2-3 innings, with three coming consecutively from the fourth to sixth
frames.
Hollett lined a single through the left side
of the infield to break up the no-hitter in the top of the seventh inning. Paige
hit a sacrifice bunt, before a groundout advanced Hollett to third base.
Courtney Cherry followed with a base on balls and advanced to second, before a
pop out ended the seventh inning.
Paige lined a double to right-center field to
begin the four-run inning for the Trojans. The next two batters walked to load
the bases for Troy. A fielding error by the Warhawks gave the Trojans a 1-0
lead. Marcy Sartain followed with a RBI single down the left-field line, before
Shields hit a two-RBI single to center field to push Troy in front 4-0 in its
top half of the ninth inning.
Cassel hit a two-out single through the left
side of the infield to being a ULM rally, but a lineout ended the attempted
comeback and the game.
Causey (3-3) fanned seven batters and walked
four in the nine inning complete game. She allowed four runs on four hits after
throwing 132 pitches.
Game
Two Recap:
ULM used a four run fourth inning to propel
itself to a 4-1 victory and a doubleheader split. Mills was excellent in the
circle with a complete game two-hit victory.
After Troy scored a single run in the opening
frame off a double steal, Mills (3-5) settled down and finished with seven
strikeouts and three 1-2-3 innings. She gave up just two hits and one run,
while walking none.
Salanoa and Melissa Rivera each finished
1-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI. Love also stole her eighth base of the
season and drew a walk in the fifth inning.
Paige and Hayden Gann tallied the only two
hits for Troy, while Kala Moore scored the Trojans only run of the game. Sartain
recorded a sacrifice hit and Moore stole two bases.
Moore reached base to being the game after
the Warhawks muffed a groundball. She then stole second base and advanced to
third on a Paige single to right field. Moore scored the first run of the game
on a double steal to give Troy a 1-0 lead.
The Warhawks began the fourth inning with a
pair of singles, before Janel Salanoa hit a RBI single through the left side. Rivera
followed with a RBI single to push Cassel across the plate for the second run
of the game. Salanoa also scored on the play after a Trojan outfielder
committed an error. Robin Biddle finished the frame with a RBI single to right
field, before being thrown out at second base. After four innings of play the
Warhawks found themselves in front 4-0.
Williams was tagged with the loss after giving
up four runs, three earned, on five hits. She struck out two batters in four
innings of work.
ULM and Troy square off in the rubber game of
the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Warhawks' softball complex.
