MONROE, La. -- ULM (17-27, 3-14 Sun Belt) starts a stretch of five games over the next six days when it visits Jackson State (23-26) Tuesday to make up a contest originally scheduled for April 3 then returns home to host Central Arkansas for the final non-conference tilt of the year on Wednesday. The contest is ULM's annual teal game to help raise sexual assault prevention awareness. The Warhawks then make their final road trip of the regular season for a three-game Sun Belt series at North Texas (22-20. 11-8 Sun Belt).
ULM looks to turn things around this week both overall and in conference play. The Warhawks currently hold the eighth spot in the Sun Belt tournament and have a two-game advantage over Middle Tennessee in the win column. Should the teams be tied, ULM has the tie-breaker since it took two games from the Blue Raiders earlier this year.
While the Warhawks have struggled at the plate of late, sophomore Alexis Cacioppo has been the cog of the offense. She is hitting .462 against Sun Belt opponents with two doubles, a triple and a pair of homers. Her .718 slugging percentage in league games is 350 points higher than her next-closest teammate. Cacioppo leads the team in overall batting average, hitting at a.319 clip and slugging .549. She has a team-high 19 RBI.
LAST TIME OUT: ULM's offensive woes continued last week, falling 8-0 at Ole Miss then suffereing a three-game sweep at home against No. 20 South Alabama. The Warhawks have now lost a season-high seven straight games.
WARHAWKS ONLINE: Follow live stats at ULMWarhawks.com, get updates via Facebook (ULM Warhawks) and through Twitter (@ULMWarhawks). A free live video stream of the Central Arkansas contest is available on ULMWarhawks.com.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
- ULM visits Jackson State (April 23, 4 p.m.) for the first time in five years. The Lady Tigers are led by Jasmine Warren's .358 batting average while Lauren Aikens has a team-high 34 RBI. Aikens also leads the team with four homers. Warren is the team's speedster, going 34-of-43 stealing bases. As a team, the Lady Tigers are hitting at a .288 clip. In the circle, Breea Jamerson sees the vast majority of the work. She's tossed 208.1 innings this year and has a 3.23 ERA with a 15-18 record. Jamerson's 86 strike outs lead the team. Warren has made 21 appearances as the Lady Tigers' pitcher, tossing 94.0 innings. She has a 7-7 record with a 4.84 ERA.
- Central Arkansas (April 24, 5 p.m.) and ULM battle for just the fifth time ever. The Bears are paced by Sam Forrest's even .400 batting average in 165 at-bats. She is tied for the team high RBI total with Melanie Bryant (32). Bryant leads UCA with seven homers. Stephanie Lasley is the team's top base thief, going 17-17 this season in 34 contests. In the circle, Kelsie Armstrong has been the Bears work horse. She has seen 226.0 innings and compiled a 24-10 record. Her ERA is a blistering 1.64 with 294 strikeouts while walking only 35 entering Wednesday's game. She is holding opponents to a .198 batting average. Ciara Clampitt, Taylor Barclay, and Cicely New have all seen time ine relief.
- The Warhawks make their final trip to North Texas (April 27, 2/4 p.m.; April 28 11 a.m.) with both teams as Sun Belt foes. The Mean Green enter the weekend coming off a split with No. 19 Baylor in a doubleheader. Brooke Foster leads the squad with a .382 batting average and .574 slugging clip. Jordan Terry and Taylor Schoblocher are tied for a team-high seven homers. Terry's 30 RBI pace the Mean Green offense. Ashley Kirk and Brittany Simmons split time in the circle, though Kirk has the slight advantage. Kirk is 10-7 in 22 games (16 starts) while Simmons is 8-8 in 23 appearances (17 starts). Kirk leads the team with 127 strike outs and a 2.83 ERA. Lauren Poole has made 15 appearances, mainly in relief.
WARHAWKS AT HOME AND AWAY: ULM vists Jackson State Tuesday then returns home briefly for a Wednesday game with Central Arkansas. The Warhawks wrap up the road slate at North Texas for a three-game conference series over the weekend.
BASE THIEVES: In 2013, ULM is 72-of-94 in stolen bases. The mark is best in the conference. ULM finished the 2012 campaign with 105 stolen bases, the second highest total in the Sun Belt and also a school record. Base runners were caught just 20 times last season. Meanwhile, ULM allowed just 44 steals on 56 attempts-the third lowest in the league.
THREE'S THE MAGIC NUMBER: ULM is 12-8 when scoring three or more runs this season.
SALANOA'S SUCCESS: Senior Janel Salanoa continues to be one of the toughest to strike out in the country. She ranks 21st in the category this season. In her career, she has 19 home runs and is now one long ball away from tying Megan Miller for sixth all-time in program history.
PROGRAM MILESTONES: ULM won its 800th game as a program and its 50th Sun Belt contest by sweeping Middle Tennessee Friday, Mar. 29.
AT THE HELM: Rosemary Holloway-Hill is in her 29th season as head coach. She won her 800th game as a head coach at any level in game one of the Middle Tennessee twin bill. She is joined in the dugout by Associate Head Coach Sara Vogt. This is Vogt's third season in the role and fifth overall at ULM.
FAMILIAR FACE: Back in January, ULM head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill announced the addition of Lindsay Rittenhouse-Becton to the staff as the Warhawks' pitching coach. Rittenhouse-Becton graduated from ULM in 2008 as the school's all-time saves leader.
VETS & ROOKIES: The 2013 Warhawks feature 10 returning players and nine newcomers, including eight freshmen. Four of the eight freshmen were high school teammates at Hahnville (La.) High School, where together they were state champions in 2011 and runners-up in 2010 and 2012. Three other Warhawks have played on state championship squads.
MAKING THE GRADE: ULM Softball posted a 3.478 GPA in the Fall 2012 semester. It was the highest team GPA among all ULM sports teams. The Warhawks 2011-12 team GPA ranked 41st in the Division I, according to the NFCA. That was one spot higher than Stanford and just below 2013 opponent St. Louis.
PRESEASON PICKS: The Warhawks were picked to finish eighth in the Sun Belt by the conference head coaches. UL-Lafayette was unanimously picked to repeat as Sun Belt champions.
PRESEASON AWARDS: Senior 1B Janel Salanoa was named to the CollegeSportsMadness.com All-Sun Belt second team earlier this year.
QUOTABLE: “I feel like this team belongs, and you'll see new and exciting things happen from them.” - Rosemary Holloway-Hill on the 2013 Warhawks.
