MONROE, La. – The ULM softball team takes to the road for a Sun Belt Conference series this weekend when it heads to Boone, N.C., for a three-game series with Appalachian State. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 12, with the first game set for 11 a.m., and concludes on Sunday, April 11 with a 10 a.m. contest.
The Warhawks (10-17, 4-4 Sun Belt) enter the weekend with a 10-6 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs since Appalachian State joined the Sun Belt Conference in the 2014 season.
ULM is 3-3 when facing the Mountaineers in Boone and 6-3 when playing in North Carolina. The 2015 series between the two programs, the first since Appalachian State joined the Sun Belt, was played in Wingate, N.C., where ULM won all three contests.
The Warhawks have outscored Appalachian State 72-51 in the 16 games between the two programs, eclipsing the double-digit run mark on two occasions. ULM has also shut out the Mountaineers on three occasions in those 16 meetings and are 3-1 in one-run contests in that span.
A series win against the Mountaineers would also mark the first time in five seasons that ULM has won three Sun Belt Conference series in a single season.
ULM, which is .500 in Sun Belt Conference play, opened the conference slate by winning two of three games against Coastal Carolina on March 13-14. The Warhawks followed up that series win by claiming a pair of victories against Georgia Southern after the third game of the series was canceled due to poor field conditions.
A series victory against the Mountaineers would mark the third series win in Sun Belt Conference play for ULM this season. The last time the Warhawks achieved three Sun Belt Conference series victories in a season was 2017, when they took two of three against Georgia Southern (March 17-18), completed a sweep of Appalachian State (April 8-9) and won two of three in a series with Troy (April 14-15).
Appalachian State is 17-10 overall and 1-5 in the Sun Belt Conference entering Saturday's contest with the Warhawks. The Mountaineers, who are 4-2 at home this season, are riding a six-game winning streak that dates back to March 23. Appalachian State swept Western Carolina by scores of 5-1 and 4-3 (10 inn.) on March 23 and followed with an 6-5 victory in eight innings over Georgia State on March 26.
The Mountaineers continued their winning streak in the first week of the April, sweeping a doubleheader with Radford on April 3 by scores of 5-2 and 3-1. The most recent victory, 4-3, came on Wednesday against UNC Greensboro in Boone.
