MONROE, La. -- The ULM softball program begins its longest road trip of the season Tuesday at Central Arkansas for a non-conference battle. The Warhawks then resume Sun Belt play on April 18 at UT Arlington for a three-game set.
In all, the trek is seven games long and will see the Warhawks visit Texas twice in addition to Hammond, La., and Conway, Ark.
ON THE WEB
Links to live streaming and stats for the UCA game and the UTA series can be found at ULMWarhawks.com. As always, you can follow @ULM_Softball on Twitter for updates.
SOFTBALL AROUND THE HORN
Warhawks Walk-Off to Grab a Win from WKU
After Western Kentucky took both games Saturday by 7-1 and 9-3 tallies, the Warhawks were able to rally for a dramatic walk-off victory on Sunday. Alexis Cacioppo's two-out, three-run home run lifted ULM to a 4-3 victory in the final regular-season Sun Belt meeting between the two schools.
Late-Inning Heroics
ULM has now walked off four times this season, including three Sun Belt victories. In addition to Cacioppo's blast Sunday, Vanessa Garcia had the walk-off hits in ULM's two previous wins over Troy (a homer and a single). The Warhawks also walked off against Texas Southern on Feb. 28, when Courtney Dutreix smashed the game-winning double.
Stealing Records
Miyuki Navarrete has now moved into fourth all-time in the ULM record books as she has 78 career steals, just two away from Ruth Dawson. She needs five more to tie Amy Pezdek's career mark of 83. Navarrete's single-season tally of 33 stands fifth all-tie and is 16 away from Brenda Dawson's 49 in 1992. As a team, ULM needs just four more steals to swipe 100 bags on the season. The Warhawks 96 stolen bags are twice as many as they have allowed and the best in NCAA Division I.
Scouting the Warhawks
Miyuki Navarrete paces the team with 36 hits and a blistering .356 batting average. She now has nine extra-base hits on the year and 15 RBI. With two homers over the weekend, Alexis Cacioppo took sole possession of the team's home run lead, bringing her season tally to six. Faith Bohack still paces the offense with 23 RBI. Samantha Hamby has been the workhorse in the circle this season, tossing 104 innings in 21 appearances (18 starts). She has 11 complete games, including four shutouts. Hamby is 12-9 on the year with 56 strikeouts.
The Holloway-Hill File
Head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill is in 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 Central Arkansas
The Sugar Bears come into tomorrow's contest nine games below the .500 mark, but they are 8-9 in Southland play. Briana Whisenhunt leads the squad with a blistering .362 batting average, although Jessie Taylor 's 47 RBI and 10 HR pace the offense. Kylee Studioso has gotten the lion's share of the work, tossing 102.2 innings. She has fanned 135 on her way to a 10-7 record with a 3.48 ERA. This will be ULM's second-ever trip to Conway, Ark. UCA is coming off a series loss to Northwestern State (2-1).
Series History: UCA leads 3-2
First Meeting: 2/14/09, at ULM 2, UCA 1
Last Meeting: 4/24/13, at ULM 3, UCA 2
Scouting UT Arlington
ULM and UTA renew their long history after a nearly eight-year break since the last meeting between the two schools. The Mavs carry a 17-24 record overall and a 2-9 mark in Sun Belt play. Nina Villanueva has carried the UTA offense this season, hitting .347 with 32 RBI on seven homers. She also boasts nine doubles on the year. Reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week Callie Collins is 9-9 on the year after earning a win over Troy this past weekend. Collins has a team-low 2.90 ERA in 128.0 innings pitched. She has 121 of the Mavs' 184 strikeouts.
Series History: UTA leads 44-43
First Meeting: 1982, at UTA 3, ULM 0
Last Meeting: 4/9/06, at UTA 5, ULM 0
Around the Sun Belt
UL-Lafayette took two-of-three from South Alabama over the weekend to secure its top spot in the league. Meanwhile, Georgia State used a sweep of Texas State to vault into fourth place. South Alabama sits a game ahead of WKU for second place in the league while ULM is a one game ahead of Texas State in the loss column for fifth. UTA is two ahead of Troy for the seventh spot.
ULM Did You Know?
- 57 of ULM's 179 runs scored have come in the fifth inning or later. Additionally, the Warhawks have outscored opponents 23-5 in the seventh inning or later.
- ULM boasted a record 1,081 fans on April 1
- Miyuki Navarrete's 78 career stolen bases are 25th among all active players in Division I. Her stolen base percentage of .893 ranks 12th in Division I.
- ULM leads the Sun Belt in double plays turned per game and doubles hit per game.
- Alexis Cacioppo is now tied-for-fifth on ULM's all-time homer list with 21. She needs three more long balls to become the 11th player in ULM history to record 10 (or more) home runs in a season.
