MONROE, La. – The ULM softball squad will get accustomed to being on the road, beginning a 14-game road stand at the Tiger Classic Friday when it faces Northern Kentucky at 9 a.m. inside Tennessee State's Tiger Softball Field.
The three-day, six-team event also includes the Butler Bulldogs, the East Tennessee State Bucs and the Evansville Purple Aces.
The Warhawks have started the season 4-2. After losing its home opener to McNeese, a team that was chosen to finish second in the Southland Conference, ULM battled to win four of its next five including a 3-1 victory over last year's BIG EAST runner-up, the Seton Hall Pirates.
The Maroon and Gold opened the Mardi Gras Classic with a record-breaking 23-0 triumph over Grambling State, setting school records in runs (23) and RBIs (19) and tying a school record with 18 hits.
Senior Faith Bohack became the sixth player in school history to eclipse 100 career RBIs with a three-RBI performance and junior McKinley Marks smacked a career-high three hits complemented by four RBIs, also a career high. The Warhawks had 13 batters record a hit and nine record at least one RBI.
In the midst of an offensive explosion, sophomore Paige Porter threw a perfect game in the shortened five-inning game, striking out four while only throwing 49 pitches.
Freshman Katlynn Kaminski tossed a complete game shutout in the Warhawks' second win over Grambling State. The Teague, Texas native allowed just two hits and struck out six in her first career start.
The aforementioned win over the Pirates came on junior Melanie Coyne's second complete game of the season. She scattered four hits and struck out three in the victory. ULM was lifted by a three-run fourth inning in which senior Amye Barre scored freshman Sydney McKay on an RBI groundout, senior Faith Bohack scored on a passed ball and junior Vanessa Garcia scored on a sacrifice foulout to left field by junior Sidney Coy.
Marks as the designated player has had the hottest bat to start the season, hitting .538 with a double, a homer and five RBIs in the first six games. Junior Rochelle Roberts follows close behind at .438 with a double and a triple to boot. Roberts also leads the Sun Belt Conference in stolen bases, swiping 8-8 thus far. Sophomore Cheyanne Lyon shares the SBC lead with three doubles and Bohack and Garcia spearhead the Warhawks with six RBIs each.
Feb. 19 | Northern Kentucky | 9 a.m.
This will be the Norse's opening contest. They were chosen to finish ninth in the Horizon's Preseason Poll. NKU's top returner is junior catcher Dani Devlin, who hit .347 last season with 12 home runs and 30 RBIs. This is the first-ever meeting between the Warhawks and the Norse. NKU was 6-42, 1-20 Atlantic Sun last season.
Feb. 19 | Butler | 1:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs split their season's first four games at the Plainsman Invite hosted by Auburn University, notching wins over Furman and Appalachian State before falling to Western Kentucky and Auburn.
Butler's biggest threat is junior Brandyce Sallee, a member of the All-BIG EAST Second Team, who led all Bulldog returners last season in hits, home runs, RBIs and batting average. Sallee currently holds Butler's highest batting average (.500) and has totaled a team-high three doubles. She also ties team highs with six hits and four RBIs.
The Warhawks are likely to face Butler's ace, Kristin Gutierrez (1-1, 1.17 ERA). She went 13-13 last season on a 3.19 ERA and struck out 82 batters in 156 innings. The last meeting between the Bulldogs and Warhawks resulted in a 12-11 Butler win in Las Vegas, Nev. at the UNLV mini tournament on Feb. 20, 2004. The Bulldogs were selected to finish sixth in the BIG EAST.
Feb. 20 | Tennessee State | 11:15 a.m.
The Tigers began the season 1-4 and are projected to finish 12th in the Ohio Valley Conference. TSU is led by junior outfielder Courtney Gearlds who has hit .364 to start the season including a four-RBI performance in the Tigers' season opener versus Mississippi Valley State.
This is the first-ever meeting between the TSU and ULM.
Feb. 20 | Evansville | 6 p.m.
The Purple Aces are off to a hot start in 2016, starting the season 4-1 with multiple wins over Alabama State and Eastern Michigan. Evansville's only setback came in a 5-4 defeat to host Troy at the Firehouse Invite.
All-Missouri Valley Conference junior Danielle Freeman was named MVC Player of the Week after batting .571 with a home run, four doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored. Junior shortstop Michal Luckett follows closely at .529, claiming the Aces' top spot in the doubles department with five. Luckett and redshirt sophomore Morgan Lambert also have hit homers for Evansville.
Evansville was chosen to finish 10th in the MVC. The last meeting with the Aces, a doubleheader in Monroe on March 12, 1994, resulted in 1-0 wins for each team as the teams split the series 1-1.
Feb. 21 | East Tennessee State | 9:30 a.m.
The Bucs began their season 0-2 after dropping games to Murray State and Kennesaw State. Senior outfielder Jennine Duncan has three hits in seven at-bats (.439) while junior infielder Taylor Carter (.400) poses as a power hitter with two of her five hits going for extra bases.
The pitching staff is still working out the kinks among its four hurlers. Juniors Lindsey Fadnek and Sharlene Godoy and sophomore Madison Ogle have all thrown just over three innings while junior Rebbeca Wahrmunch has tossed 2.1 scoreless innings. The staff is a combined 0-2 with a 3.77 ERA and has posted a 1:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
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