MONROE, La. – Three home runs by right fielder Kayt Houston put App State out in front early and helped the Mountaineers to a 6-3 win over ULM (17-9, 3-4) softball Friday night. ULM battled back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, but couldn't overcome the deficit.
 
"Kayt Houston is a great hitter and she was seeing the ball like a beach ball tonight, but it was the walks that hurt us more," said ULM softball head coach Molly Fichtner. "We didn't have a good outing in the circle. We've got to eliminate the walks and the errors. Solo home runs are okay, but those scores add up when there are players on base because of walks or errors. We had plenty of opportunities to get momentum; in four innings, we had the lead-off hitter on base with no outs. Tomorrow's a new day. We have to come out ready to go from the first pitch to the last. We can't just show up in the sixth."
 
The Mountaineers (16-11, 4-3) built their lead as Houston homered for a 2-0 score in the first with the lead-off batter on first after a walk. Center fielder Mary Pierce Barnes went 3-for-4 on the night and singled in two runs after a combination of walks, an error and a wild pitch put the two Mountaineers in scoring position. Houston finished going 3-for-3 with a walk, hitting solo home runs in the fourth and sixth for the 6-0 App State advantage.
 
ULM capitalized on two walks to lead off the Warhawk portion of the sixth inning as Kennedy Johnson and Kennedy Page took their bases. Andie Edwards reached on an App State error, but Johnson was out at third. Page scored the Warhawks' first run when Madelyn Fletcher fouled out. Jacelyn Buck took first base after being hit by a pitch advanced to second on Davila's single and then to third when Madison Blount was issued a walk. Buck scored when Alexis Chavez hit a two-out single.
 
Nine Warhawks were stranded and four were left in scoring position in Friday's series opener.
 
Johnson and Chavez both went two-for-three in the game with Kennedy Page drawing two walks and scoring a run. Adrianna Chavarria (2-4) was tagged with the loss, and recorded nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings of relief. Victoria Abrams retired the Mountaineers with the bases loaded after replacing Gianna Hulett in the first. The Warhawk pitching staff issued eight walks.
 
Live stats are available for this Saturday and Sunday's games on the softball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com. Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. CT.