Ashlan Ard runner the bases against Cal in the Wilson Invitational on Feb. 17, 2023.
John Fajardo
7
Winner ULM ULM 7-3
6
UC Davis UCD 6-2
Winner
ULM ULM
7-3
7
Final
6
UC Davis UCD
6-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
ULM ULM 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 7 6 1
UC Davis UCD 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 6 12 3

W: Chavarria, Adrianna (3-0) L: Caroline Grimes (0-1) S: Hulett, Gianni (3)

Game Recap: Softball |

ULM Softball Rallies from 5-0 Deficit; Defeats UC Davis, 7-6

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Trailing 5-0 heading into the top of the seventh, the ULM softball team rallied for seven runs, highlighted by Ashlan Ard's three-run double, and Gianni Hulett got out of a jam in the bottom of the frame as the Warhawks defeated UC Davis, 7-6, Saturday (Feb. 18) in the opening game of Day 2 at the Wilson Invitational.
 
UC Davis scratched out a run in the bottom of the third against Hulett, who earned her first start of the season. With one out, Anna Dethlefson singled up the middle and stole second. Sommer Kisling followed with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Dethlefson from second base, as the Aggies took a 1-0 lead.
 
After being no-hit by UC Davis' starter Kenedi Brown in Friday's second game of the Wilson Invitational, ULM didn't record a hit off Taylor Fitzgerald until Alexis Chavez led off the fourth inning with a single to center field.
 
The Aggies extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Sarah Starks reached after being hit by a pitch from Hulett to open the frame. Sarah Nakahara followed with a single to left. Starks came around to score from first after Hulett's two-base throwing error after fielding a bunt by Delaney Diaz. Grace Kilday followed with an RBI single up the middle that scored Nakahara and gave UC Davis a 3-0 advantage. With Adrianna Chavarria taking over for Hulett, the Aggies perfectly executed a double steal, with Kilday taking second and Diaz scoring from third and a 4-0 lead. With two outs and runners on first and third, Leah Polson gave UC Davis a 5-0 cushion with an RBI single to right field.
 
Fitzgerald allowed just two hits through the first six innings and cruised into the seventh with a 5-0 lead. With one out, pinch hitter Andie Edwards drew a walk, Campbell Selman followed with a single up the middle and Madison Blount delivered an RBI double to center field, scoring Edwards from second base. UC Davis reliever Caroline Grimes entered the game and walked pinch hitter Madelyn Fletcher to load the bases. Gabby Davila, ULM's third pinch hitter of the inning, drew a four-pitch walk to pick up an RBI and cut the Warhawks' deficit to 5-2. After Grimes issued back-to-back walks, Fitzgerald returned to the circle and Lourdes Bacon came through with an RBI single to left center that scored Taylor Braddick, who pinch ran for Blount. Next, ULM took advantage of a throwing error by Fitzgerald as Chavez reached on a fielder's choice and Fletcher scored from third to make it a one-run game at 5-4. After Fitzgerald recorded the second out of the inning with a strikeout looking, Ard gave ULM its first lead of the game with a bases-clearing double to left-center field, scoring Davila, Bacon and Chavez.
 
"I'm very proud of our team's effort to come back in the seventh," ULM head coach Molly Fichtner said. "Our pinch hitters (Andie Edwards, Madelyn Fletcher and Gabby Davila) played a huge role in that game. I told the team last week that one of the many reasons I love this game is because there's not ever a time limit. You have to complete the seven innings. (Ashlan) Ard struck out as the first out in the top of the seventh, and then in her next at-bat, she hit the go ahead double to clear the bases. It was an unbelievable performance on her end."
 
Hulett reentered the circle in the bottom of the seventh and gave up a lead-off single to center by Libbie McMahan and Starks followed with a double to left center. UC Davis pulled to within a run at 7-6 on an RBI groundout to second base by Nakahara. Hulett picked up her third save of the season by fielding a pop out from Diaz and a grounder back to the circle by Kilday.
 
"Gianni has been doing a phenomenal job for us," Fichtner said. "Her maturity to slow the game down and retire three in a row to close the game after those back-to-back hits were crucial for us. I couldn't be more proud of her."
 
UC Davis outhit the Warhawks, 12-6, but stranded eight bases runners. Nakahara (3-for-4) led the Aggie attack with three hits, a run scored and an RBI. Blount (2-for-3) recorded her first multi-hit game of the season for ULM.
 
Chavarria, who pitched three scoreless innings in relief, improved to 3-0 on the season while allowing four hits and producing one strikeout. Hulett pitched four innings and permitted six runs, five earned, on eight hits with no walks and no strikeouts.
 
Fitzgerald went seven innings and surrendered five runs, three earned, on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Grimes (0-1), who didn't record an out in the seventh, took the loss, allowing two runs on a pair of walks.
 
ULM will conclude the Wilson Invitational with a split doubleheader on Sunday against host Long Beach state at 12 p.m. CT/10 a.m. PT, followed by a rematch against Cal at 2:30 p.m. CT/12:30 p.m.
 
"We're going to rest tonight to gear up for tomorrow," Fichtner said. "LBSU will be a challenge. They have home-field advantage, so we will need to be ready to bring it. Cal is going to come out tomorrow with their 'A' game, so our team needs to be ready."
 
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