MONROE, La. – It's been a week of recovery and preparation for the ULM Warhawk softball team; after wrapping up its final tournament of the season last weekend, the Warhawks are heading to Boone, North Carolina to face Appalachian State as they open Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday (Mar.10).
The Warhawks are headed to the east coast after going 2-2 at the Blues City Classic, closing out the weekend with back-to-back losses against Memphis and Missouri-Kansas City.
ULM started the weekend with consecutive wins, including a complete 7-0 shutout win by sophomore
Sydney Wader, over Fort Wayne, on Saturday (Mar.3).
The Hawks (10-7) are looking to open up conference play with a series win against Appalachian State for the second time in three years. ULM defeated the Mountaineers in two out of three games for opening Sun Belt weekend back in 2016.
The Mountaineers (10-10) will be hosting ULM after a four-game series sweep of Norfolk State earlier this week. App State closed out the series on Tuesday (Mar.6) with a 9-0 shutout win over the Spartans.
Appalachian State is led by junior Jenny Dodd, who boasts a .409 average at the plate. Leading the Mountaineers in the circle is Kenzie Longanecker, who has led her team to two wins on a 2.88 ERA through 58 innings pitched.
For ULM, junior
Sydney McKay remains at the top of the stat sheet, batting .438 as a 17-game starter. McKay has racked up 28 hits and scored a team-high 15 runs.
In the circle, senior Hawk
Paige Murray has guided her team to four wins, averaging 4.69 ER through 40 innings of work.
Over the last three series, ULM has defeated App State in eight out of nine games. The last time the Warhawks and Mountaineers met, ULM swept App State, when the Hawks scored five runs in the first three innings to leave the Mountaineers in their tracks.
