CONWAY, Ark. – The ULM softball squad split its two games Saturday at the UCA Invitational inside Farris Field, defeating Middle Tennessee State 8-0 before falling to Belmont 5-4.
ULM 8, MTSU 0 (six innings)
Junior Melanie Coyne threw her sixth complete game this season on a masterful outing where she scattered just two hits and struck out four, lifting the Warhawks to an 8-0 victory over MTSU.
ULM (10-3) jumped out to a 1-0 advantage early in the first inning when junior Rochelle Roberts advanced home on a steal attempt by freshman Sydney McKay. Roberts started the inning with a double but ended up on third because of a fielding error in left field.
While one run was all Coyne needed, the Warhawks struck for three more in the bottom of the third inning. Junior designated player McKinley Marks pulled a double to right center that plated McKay who singled to begin the inning.
Junior centerfielder Sidney Coy then brought home sophomore pinch runner Carlie Comeaux on an infield single and freshman pinch runner Victoria Pederson later scored on some heads up base running, advancing home as Coy stole second. This gave ULM a 4-0 lead.
Roberts scored again in the bottom of the fourth on a McKay groundout after she singled up the middle, stole second and advanced to third on a Faith Bohack sacrifice fly to right field.
The Warhawks finally closed the door on the Raiders (8-5) in the bottom of the sixth inning. Roberts hit a one-out triple, her third of the year, to right center before scoring on another McKay groundout. Bohack then scored on a Marks single to left center and the game ended when senior Amye Barre plated sophomore pinch runner Hunter Hogan on a double to left center which activated the eight-run rule in ULM's favor.
Roberts was a home run short of the cycle as she went 4-4 at the dish and scored three runs. This was Roberts' second four-hit performance of the season as she also achieved the feat versus Prairie View A&M on Feb. 12. Barre, Bohack, Garcia and Marks each recorded two hits.
Belmont 5, ULM 4
The Warhawks were downed by the Bruins 5-4 as senior third baseman Jess Wilson hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. ULM (10-4) held the advantage the entire game up to Wilson's at bat.
After Roberts singled and stole second to commence the top of the first inning, Bohack hit a two-run homer to left center which gave the Warhawks an early 2-0 lead. ULM widened the gap to three in the top of the third when McKay singled down the left field line, advanced to second on an error and reached home on Barre's single to right center.
Freshman Katlynn Kaminski retired the first eight batters she faced before running into some trouble in the bottom of the third inning. After Kaminski walked freshman Mac Stewart, the Bruins (1-11) strung together back-to-back singles, scoring Stewart and cutting into ULM's lead at 3-1.
From the third inning forward, ULM managed just two hits the rest of the game. The Warhawks scored in the top of the seventh which nixed the Bruins run in the bottom of the sixth. ULM held a 4-2 lead into the final half inning.
Coyne entered the game looking to convert her second save of the season but gave up back-to-back hits, one of which was an RBI triple by junior Kayla Wells to make it a one-run game at 4-3. Coyne struck out the next two batters and on a 0-2 count, Wilson lifted a Coyne pitch over the fence in left to win the game.
Roberts, Bohack and McKay finished with two hits, but the rest of the team went a combined 1-18. Roberts is on a 10-game hitting streak and has reached base in 13 straight games. Sophomore Paige Porter threw 0.2 scoreless innings in relief on 12 pitches.
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The Warhawks return to action tomorrow in their final game of the UCA Invitational versus South Dakota State on a 9 a.m. scheduled first pitch.
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