SETTING THE SCENE
 

• ULM opens Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday (March 16) when it begins a three-game set at Southern Miss. The Warhawks and Golden Eagles' three game series will be played Saturday-Monday at the Southern Miss Softball Complex in Hattiesburg, Miss.

• ULM and Southern Miss will meet for the 38th time on Saturday afternoon, with ULM leading the series, 20-17. ULM has dropped eight of the previous 10 matchups, with the Golden Eagles sweeping the Warhawks in Monroe last season.

Last year, ULM won its conference-opening series at Georgia Southern after sweeping a doubleheader on March 17 in Statesboro. The Warhawks have won 2-of-3 games in their previous three conference-opening series, with series wins over Georgia Southern at home in 2022 and wins over Coastal Carolina in Monroe in 2021.

• Newcomer Carys Platt has compiled a .452 batting average and a .545 on base percentage in her first 26 games wearing a ULM uniform, which both the Sun Belt Conference. The junior from Fellsmere, Fla. ranks fourth in the SBC with 12 stolen bases, and fifth with 0.92 runs/game.  Platt played two seasons at Florida Southwestern State College and led her team to a pair of NJCCA National Championships. Lourdes Bacon has continued to produce at the plate for the Warhawks, and has accumulated 30 hits, which is the ninth-highest total in the league. The UTSA transfer ranks eighth in the country with 16 stolen bases and also leads the SBC. Bacon earned All-SBC Second Team honors in 2022.

• Three Warhawk pitchers have dazzled in the circle this year, led by sophomore Maddie Nichols. The West Monroe, La., native enters Wednesday's game with a 1.70 ERA and has struck out 68 batters in 14 appearances. Nichols has tossed four complete games, including a pair of seven-inning wins versus Lindenwood and Syracuse. LSU transfer Victoria Abrams is 6-4 in 11 starts and has pitched two complete-game shutouts, including a five-inning perfect game in ULM's run-rule win over Green Bay in February. 

Kassidy Giddens went the distance in ULM's win over Evansville on Feb. 24 and has allowed just one earned run in her last 14.0 innings pitched. Redshirt junior Gianni Hulett made her first appearance of the season in Saturday's 4-1 win at McNeese, with Hulett shutting the door for a 2.2 innings save. Hulett surrendered just one hit in the final innings of play and preserved the lead for the Warhawks.

• Senior Andie Edwards leads ULM with 18 RBIs and has hit seven sacrifice flys so far this season, which is the highest number in the nation. Edwards has started her senior campaign hitting .264 with seven extra-base hits and an OPS of .851.

• The Brown twins have made an immediate impact on ULM's offensive success this season. Morgan Brown leads the Warhawks with four home runs in 14 games and has tallied an OPS of 1.260 with four doubles and 13 RBIs. Her sister, Meagan Brown, has powered seven extra-base hits and has driven in 17 RBIs in her first 24 games. The twins are from Katy, Texas, and are graduates from Obra D. Tompkins High School.

• Each game of the series will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Graham Doty on the call. The links to the live stats can be found on the softball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.

The Warhawks return to Monroe on Wednesday (March 20) to face Southeastern Louisiana in a midweek game.