JACKSON, Miss. – The ULM softball team combined for 20 runs and 27 hits—including five doubles and two triples—to complete its first midweek doubleheader sweep since a March 10, by defeating non-conference opponent Jackson State by scores of 10-0 (5 inn.) and 10-5 (8 inn.) on Thursday, April 15.
 
GAME 1: ULM 10, Jackson State 0 (5 inn.)
 
The Warhawks established a 6-0 lead in the first inning, scoring their first run on a grounder to second by Madelyn Fletcher that plated Jayden Mount from third base. The lead moved to 2-0 when Andie Edwards walked and quickly stole second, allowing Korie Kreps to trot home from third. Kennedy Johnson delivered a single through the left side of the infield, plating Edwards, as the ULM lead grew to three.
 
The biggest blast of the first inning came off the bat of Rylee Lara, who connected on a bases-clearing double to right centerfield that scored Jessica Williams, Kelsey Giddens and Johnson in the process.
 
Johnson was responsible for a double of her own in the second inning, which found its way through the left side of the infield, allowing Edwards to extend the ULM lead to 7-0.
 
Kendall Morton immediately made her presence felt as a pinch hitter for the Warhawks in the third, scoring Mount and Williams as the lead ballooned to 9-0 through three innings. The 10th and final run of the game crossed the plate for the Warhawks in the fifth when Kreps reached on a triple to centerfield that brought Mount home from first.
 
ULM recorded 13 hits in the victory, including four extra-base knocks, with five players notching multi-hit games. The top individual hitters were Lara, who was 2-of-3 from the plate with three RBI, and Johnson, who came finished 2-of-3 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored.
 
Kassidy Giddens (3-2) picked up the win for the Warhawks, tossing three innings where she allowed just one hit and fanned eight Jackson State hitters. That eight-strikeout performance tied teammate Amber Coons for the most by a ULM pitcher in a single game this season.
 
GAME 2: ULM 10, Jackson State 5 (8 inn.)
 
ULM (13-20) was forced to rally in the second game, after surrendering runs in the second and third innings, to fall behind 2-0. The Warhawks put the first run of the game on the board in the fifth after Kennedy Johnson reached base on a triple to left field to lead off the frame. Rylee Lara brought the run home on a sacrifice fly, cutting the margin in half, 2-1.
 
Johnson began the seventh with a single to left, moving to second on a grounder by Kelsey Giddens. Madelyn Fletcher drew a walk to put two ULM runners on the base pads before a double to left by Madison Blount roped a double to left that provided the Warhawks with a 3-2 lead through the top of the seventh.
 
Jackson State (10-17) countered with a home run by Kayla Owens in the home half of the seventh, pulling even at three-all.
 
The Warhawk offense exploded for seven runs in the top of the eighth, assuming the lead on a single to right by Andie Edwards that scored Mount. Jessica Williams followed with a single that brought home Kreps for the fifth ULM run.
 
Johnson generated the sixth run of the game for the Warhawks with a single to left, scoring Edwards. Lara picked up the fourth straight hit for the ULM offense, a two-RBI single up the middle, which scored both Johnson and Williams for the 8-3 lead.
 
After a single up the middle by Blount scored Lara and moved Fletcher to second, Kennedy Page delivered a single to centerfield that brought Fletcher home for the 10-3 ULM lead. Jackson State tacked on two runs in the home half of the eighth to make for the 10-5 final.
 
Nine Warhawks finished with at least one hit in the game, including Johnson (3-4, RBI, 3 runs, triple), Blount (3-4, 3 RBIs, double) and Page (2-4, RBI, double), who were the only ULM sluggers with multiple hits.
 
Amber Coons (3-3) moved her record to .500 on the season in the victory. She tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowed three runs on four hits and recorded 11 strikeouts along the way. The 11 strikeouts established a new single-game season-high, which was previously eight by both Coons and Kassidy Giddens, who equaled that mark in the first game against Jackson State.
 
ULM returns to Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday, April 17, when they host Troy for a three-game series. The first game of the Saturday doubleheader begins at 1 p.m., followed by a second game at 3 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday, April 18, with a 12 p.m. contest with the Trojans.