ATLANTA – The Warhawks (27-17, 9-9 SBC) were locked in a back-and-forth battle with the Panthers (32-18, 11-9 SBC) in game two, but Georgia State picked up the win to sweep Friday's doubleheader at Robert E. Heck Softball Stadium.
Extra-base hits were the theme of the day with the Warhawks knocking three, multi-RBI home runs off the Panther pitching staff.
Junior Faith Bohack went 1-for-6 on the day with her fifth homer on the season, a two-RBI shot in game one. Senior Alexis Cacioppo went 1-for-5 with three RBI including her fourth homer on the season, a two-RBI shot in game two.
Cheyanne Lyon went 1-for-3 in as the freshman scored two runs and picked up two RBI off her first career home run. Redshirt senior Miyuki Navarrete was the fourth Warhawk with a multi-RBI day as she went 1-for-6 with a two-RBI triple.
Game 1 (L, 2-11)
Bohack knocked her sixth homer of the season, but the offense was not enough as the Warhawks fell to Georgia State 2-11 in five innings in the opener of the series.
Bohack led the offense as she went 1-for-2 with a two-RBI homerun to score all of the Warhawk runs in Friday's first game. Junior Amye Barre and sophomore Sidney Coy picked up lone hits in the outing to account to account for ULM's three hits in the opener.
Sophomore Melanie Coyne picked up the start in game one going three innings allowing six runs on six hits. Coyne struck out one batter in the outing. Sophmore Ashley Dumoulin and senior Haylie Wilson made relief appearances in the game.
Coyne was tagged with the loss and moves to 11-10 on the season.
After a scoreless first inning, the Panthers stuck using three hits and a sacrifice fly to score two and take a 0-2 lead in the second inning.
Junior Amye Barre kicked off the ULM offense with a leadoff single to left center in the third inning to record ULM's first hit of the game, but the Panther defense held strong and quieted the Warhawks.
Georgia State capitalized on walk and hit by pitch to help load the bases with one out in the third inning before knocking a grand slam to take a 0-6 lead.
Sophomore Sidney Coy singled through the left side to leadoff the fourth inning for the Warhawks. The Panthers picked up two outs, but Bohack knocked a no-doubter over the left field fence to cut lead to 2-6 GSU.
The Panther extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth using three hits and a sacrifice fly to score five and take the series opener 2-11.
Game 2 (L, 8-10)
A back-and-forth battle between the Warhawks and Panthers fell in favor of Georgia State as the Panthers took game two of the series by an 8-10 score.
The Warhawk offense was led by senior Alexis Cacioppo who went 1-for-3 with three RBI including a sixth-inning, two-RBI homer to bring the Warhawks within two.
Lyon went 1-for-2 with two RBI as she also went deep in the game with a two-RBI home run, the first of her career. Lyon scored two runs for the Warhawks. Redshirt senior Miyuki Navarrete added to the Warhawk offense with a 1-for-4 night with a two-RBI triple.
Freshman Paige Porter picked up the start in game two as she went two innings and allowed six runs off six hits. Coyne entered the game with two innings of relief as she allowed four runs off six hits. Coyne picked up the loss and moved to 11-11 on the season.
Sophomore Rochelle Roberts led off game two with a double down the left field line, her seventh double of the season. Coy followed with a bunt single to third base to put runners on the corners with no outs.
The Panthers followed with back-to-back outs, but Miyuki Navarrete knocked her second triple on the season to clear the bases and put the Warhawks up 2-0.
The Panthers answered in the bottom of the first with a two-RBI homer from Ivie Drake to lock the game at 2-all through one.
Barre led off the second inning by reaching on a hit by pitch and move into scoring positon on a passed ball. Freshman Cheyanne Lyon answered by knocking her first career home run, a bomb over the left centerfield fence, to put the Warhawks up 4-2.
The Panthers used five hits, highlighted by a three-RBI homer, to put Georgia State on top 4-6 through three innings.
Georgia State retired the first two batters in the top of the fourth inning, but pitching mistakes loaded the bases with two straight walks and a hit by pitch. Back-to-back, bases-loaded hit by pitches issued to Coy and Cacioppo plated two runs and locked the game at 6-all.
The Panthers used four hits, including two home runs, to retake the lead 6-10 through five innings, but the Warhawks would not go down quietly.
After issuing a two-out walk to Coy, Cacippo went deep for her fourth homer on the season to cut the lead to 8-10 GSU, but ULM could not overcome the deficit and fell to the Panthers.
The Warhawks look to prevent the sweep in the series finale scheduled for Sunday, April 26 at 12 p.m. EST.
For the latest on ULM softball, visit ULMWarhawks.com and follow the team on Twitter (@ULM_Softball) and Facebook (facebook.com/ULMSoftball).
