ULM Warhawks

ATLANTA – The ULM softball team (26-23, 10-14) scored five runs in the second inning for a 7-0 shoutout vs. Georgia State in the Sun Belt series finale Sunday. Sophomore catcher Kelsey Giddens hit her first home run of 2022 to plate the Warhawks' first three runs en route to the victory. Kinsey Kackley (9-8) pitched a complete-game shutout for the Warhawks'10th win in league play to tie the highest win total since ULM joined the Sun Belt beginning with the 2007 season.
 
"We were looking for our offense to turn it around and Kelsey Giddens came through with that home run – that was a game-changer for us," said ULM head coach Molly Fichtner. "I think my favorite part of the game was when, after we put up those five runs, Kinsey struck out the side. That was a huge response from her after we scored those five runs. Kinsey did such a good job Friday night, she had one pitch, and she did the same thing today; she just eliminated that one bad pitch and got the shutout."
 
The Warhawks' big second inning saw five runs on six of ULM's nine total hits. For the fourth time this season, the five runs tied the most runs scored in a single inning in Sun Belt Conference play this year. Kelsey Giddens homered with Taylor Broddick and Korie Kreps on base for a 3-0 lead. Kennedy Page followed with a double and came home on Alexis Chavez's single. Lourdes Bacon's double to left field plated Chavez for the 5-0 lead at the end of two innings.
 
Jacelyn Buck doubled to lead off the third inning and pinch-runner Caley McGuff advanced to third on Andie Edwards' single. McGuff scored on a wild pitch to put the score at 6-0 in the Warhawks' favor. Bacon singled to left field again to open the seventh inning and stole second base for her 16th stolen base of the year. She moved to third on a Kennedy Johnson line drive and crossed home on Buck's sacrifice fly for the seventh and final run.
 
Kackley allowed six hits in the shutout with 10 strikeouts in the series finale. After the big offensive output by the Warhawks in the second inning, she struck out the side and worked through the next three innings as the Panthers left two runners stranded in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Kackley also struck out the side in the sixth inning.
 
The Warhawks head into their final week of the regular season with a single non-conference game vs. Louisiana Tech Tuesday, May 3, at the ULM Softball Complex. The final Sun Belt home series is set for Thursday-Saturday, May 5-7, vs. the Ragin' Cajuns. Links for live stats will be available on the softball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com. ESPN+ will have the broadcast of Tuesday's contest vs. the Lady Techsters.