MONROE, La. -- The ULM softball program looks to continue its success as it hosts the inaugural Warhawk Classic this weekend and takes on Louisiana Tech, Alcorn State, South Dakota and Southern. The Warhawks will play the Lady Techsters and Coyotes once and the Lady Braves and Lady Jaguars twice.
Single-day passes are available now for $10, while a full three-day tournament pass is available for $25. For information on how to purchase tickets to the Warhawk Classic, contact the ULM Ticket Office at 318-342-3ULM or visit the athletic ticket homepage.
On the Web
Live stats and a free webstream for all Warhawk Classic games are available through ULMWarhawks.com and you can follow @ULM_Softball on Twitter for in-game updates.
Softball Around the Horn
Warhawks Cap Mardi Gras Title
ULM went 4-1 at the Mardi Gras Classic to win the tournament. The Warhawks began play with a day one split with a 6-4 win over Southeast Missouri State followed by a 9-2 loss against Eastern Illinois. ULM then regrouped and won the next three, beginning with a 4-1 triumph over Houston Baptist followed by a 7-1 victory over Eastern Illinois then finishing with a 19-0 rout of Grambling State.
Stealing Bags
Miyuki Navarrete continues to steal bases at an incredible pace. She currently has an individual Sun Belt best 13 steals, which ties the entire Texas State squad for second in the league. As a squad, ULM has stolen 34 bases. This averages to over three steals a game for the Warhawks and just over one for Navarrete.
Movin' On Up
Two ULM juniors have moved up in the ULM career rankings already this season. Miyuki Navarrete's 13 stolen bases put her in sole possession of seventh while Alexis Cacioppo's three homers have moved her into eighth.
Scouting the Warhawks
Vanessa Garcia leads the team with an impressive .462 batting average through the first 10 contests while Hollie Letourneau, Alexis Cacioppo and Faith Bohack each have double-digit RBI totals and three homers apiece. In the circle, Samantha Hamby's pitched the majority of the innings and she has a team-best 25 strikeouts, but Melanie Coyne has a blistering 1.85 ERA in limited action so far.
The Holloway-Hill File
Head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill enters her 30th season at the helm of the Warhawks. She is joined on staff by first year assistants Ashlyn Williams and Garrett Furnal. Williams serves as pitching coach while Furnal assists with hitting and the infield.
Scouting Louisiana Tech
The Lady Techsters snapped a six-game skid last night with a 4-1 victory over Grambling. The now 3-7 squad visits Monroe for the first time since 2008. Tech is paced by
Kristen Miles, who is hitting .333 on the young season. However, Alayna Kipp has nearly all of the offensive production with 10 of the team's 24 RBI. Pauline Tufi and Bianca Duran have split the innings in the circle. Tufi, however, has a team-high 15 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .207 average.
Series History: La Tech leads 64-31
First Meeting: 1980 (ULM won, 17-0)
Last Meeting: 3/2/13, La Tech 10, ULM 9 in Natchitoches, La.
Scouting Alcorn State
The Lady Braves opened the season with a win over DII foe Kentucky State. The team is looking to rebound after only winning five contests last year. Alcorn dropped a twin bill yesterday to LSU-Alexandria. Adrianna Gutierrez leads the team with a .444 average in the squad's first four games. while Kendall James has a team-high 10.1 innings in the circle.
Series History: ULM leads 10-1
First Meeting: 2/15/06 (ULM won, 8-6)
Last Meeting: 3/2/13, ULM 8, Alcorn 0 (5) in Natchitoches, La.
Scouting South Dakota
The Coyotes come into Monroe with a 5-3 record. Despite battling snow back home, South Dakota went 3-0 to start the season at the UCF Tournament. The squad also picked up wins over Cal State Fullerton and Texas State at the Campbell Cartier Tournament in San Diego last week. Yvon Minogue has a team-best .455 average while Morgan Hancock paces the pack with nine RBI. Ravel Cue and Madison Frain split time in the circle. Cue has the better ERA at 2.47 in 28.1 IP. She has struck out 14 thus far in 2014.
First Meeting
Scouting Southern
The Lady Jaguars have yet to scratch out a win this season. As of last week, Harley Roller paced Southern with a .750 average. This weekend marks the Jaguars' first-ever trip to Monroe.
Series History: ULM leads 3-0
First Meeting: 2/10/07 (ULM won, 4-3)
Last Meeting: 3/4/12, ULM 8, Southern 2 in Natchitoches, La.
