MONROE, La. – The 2019 season is already off to a good start for first-year head coach
Molly Fichtner and the Warhawk softball team, who saw two players, senior
Sydney McKay and junior
Jayden Mount, named to the Sun Belt Softball Preseason All-Conference Team.
McKay, a first-team all-Sun Belt selection, finished ranked third in the Sun Belt conference with a .385 batting average.
McKay can be thanked for ULM's NCAA top-50 ranking in both batting average and scoring, as she led the Sun Belt in runs scored (47) and hits (75). McKay's 75 hits led her to repeat as the season hits leader for ULM.
The Pearland, Texas native ranked in Division I's top-25 for not only total hits, but also runs per game (1.00) tying her season high of three runs scored, thrice this season.
In 2018, McKay earned a hit in 42 of 52 contests- including six doubles and two triples. She made 96 putouts in 102 catches, and concluded the season with a .980 fielding percentage.
McKay's teammate, Mount was a 2018 second-team All-Sun Belt shortstop for the Warhawks, accumulating one of the most impressive sophomore season in ULM history.
Mount finished with 25 hit-by-pitch calls, putting her 11 away from the ULM career record (38), ranking second in Division I in the category. Against Jackson State (3/28), Mount took first on three hit-by-pitch calls, tying the Division I single game season record.
Mount had a knack for finding a way to get on base, finishing first in the Sun Belt in on-base-percentage (.561), a ULM single-season record, and ranked ninth in Division I in the same category.
As a shortstop, Mount contributed 133 assists, ranked second in the conference, and ranked eighth in the Sun Belt for slugging percentage (.545). She recorded 55 hits, 43 runs scored, and hammered off four homeruns for the Warhawks.
Mount's all-around success on the field and at the plate garenered a selection to the NFCA All-Region Second-Team.
Catch
Sydney McKay,
Jayden Mount, and the rest of the Warhawk squad on Friday, March 15
th when they host Sun Belt opponent Appalachian State for their 2019 home opener. ULM will be on the road for over a month to begin the season, kicking off the year with a trip to Birmingham, Alabama where they will face host-team UAB, Austin Peay, and Wright State during UAB's Blazer Bash.
