BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The ULM softball team wrapped up its two-day, four-game stint at Samford with a pair of setbacks to Northern Iowa, 11-3, and Samford, 5-2, on Sunday, February 28.
 
Warhawk senior Jayden Mount capped off the day by finishing 3-for-8 with two RBIs, three runs and a home run. Teammates Kennedy Johnson (3-for-7) and Caley McGuff (3-7, 3 runs) also had three hits for the ULM offense.
 
Game 1: Northern Iowa 11, ULM 3
 
Northern Iowa (5-5) pounded out 11 hits and had a pair of multi-run innings in an 11-3 victory over ULM in the first game of the day for the Warhawks at the Samford Tournament.
 
The Panthers were led individually at the plate by the tandem of Daryn Lamprecht (2 RBIs, home run, double) and Emmy Wells (2-4, RBI, home run), who each finished 2-for-4 from the plate with a run scored. Teammate Sammy Bunch crossed the plate three times in the victory, while Madison Parks scored two runs for Northern Iowa.
 
Kailyn Packard (3-1) tossed the complete game nine-hitter, allowing three runs (two earned) while striking out seven ULM sluggers.
 
The ULM (3-5) offense was led by the trio of Jayden Mount (2-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs, home run), Caley McGuff (2-3, run) and Kennedy Johnson (2-4). Murphy Williams (0-2) suffered the loss for the Warhawks and tallied three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.
 
Bunch provided the Panthers with the first lead of the game, leading the game off with a home run to left field. In the bottom of the third, Mount connected on a home run of her own when she sent a two-run blast over the left field wall that brought home McGuff from third.
 
The Panthers regained their lead with a three-run fourth, which began with a one-out solo home run to left by Wells. Hannah Isley followed with a double and Bunch received an intentional walk before an error in the infield allowed the pair to score and give Northern Iowa a 4-2 lead.
 
Northern Iowa stretched its lead to seven runs in the top of the fifth after Taylor Hogan reached base on a walk. Lamprecht followed with a home run to right centerfield, plating Hogan, as the Panthers' lead ballooned to 6-2. The seventh run crossed the plate when a single to left field by Snider scored Parks from third. Kamryn Shaffer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing pinch runner Maggie Erpelding home for the 8-2 advantage. The final run of the inning came on a walk by Emma Valainis, who scored Bunch.
 
Ellie Owen delivered a double into right centerfield, scoring Parks from second as the Panthers assumed the 10-2 advantage. ULM got a run in the sixth with an RBI single to left center by Madelyn Fletcher scored Mount from third.
 
The final Northern Iowa run came in the seventh after a double to left centerfield by Parks plated Lamprecht from first.
 
Game 2: Samford 5, ULM 2
 
ULM (3-6) closed out the second game of the day and final game of the tournament with six hits against the host Bulldogs. Three of the six hits came from the top third of the order, which consisted of Korie Kreps, Caley McGuff and Jayden Mount, who finished with one hit apiece.
 
Samford (6-5) capped off the three-run win with three batters amassing two hits. Timberlyn Shurbutt (2-4, run, double), Whitney Hinton (2-3, 2 RBIs, double, run) and Kolby Holcombe (2-3, RBI) accounted for the bulk of Bulldog hits.
 
ULM put the first two runs of the game on the board in the first after back-to-back hits by McGuff and Mount was followed by Kennedy Johnson reaching base after being hit by a pitch. Madelyn Fletcher drew a bases-loaded walk to plate McGuff from third. Kelsey Giddens kept the inning alive with a single up the middle, scoring Mount, to make for a 2-0 advantage.
 
Samford cut the lead in half in the second with a single to left field by Holcombe, which scored Abigail Dorsett from second base. The Bulldog offense added two more runs in the third after Shurbutt opened with a double to left. Hinton followed with a double of her own, scoring her teammate to bring the game to a two-all deadlock. Two batters later, Ryan Brzozoski drove a single into right centerfield, giving Samford the 3-2 lead on a run by Hinton.
 
The Bulldogs added a pair of insurance runs in the fourth. Amanda Briskin led off the inning with a single to short and moved to second on a single to left field by Holcombe. After a pair of ULM strikeouts, Hinton roped a single to left center, scoring Briskin for the fourth run of the game. Ansley Yantis followed with a single into left centerfield, scoring Martin for the game's final run.
 
Kassidy Giddens (1-1) suffered the loss on the mound for the Warhawks, allowing six hits and four runs over three innings while striking out two. Emily Barnett (4-1) picked up the victory for Bulldogs, working six innings, allowing three hits and striking out four Warhawk batters.
 
ULM returns to action on Tuesday, March 2, when it faces Northwestern State in Natchitoches at 5 p.m.