MONROE, La. -- The ULM softball team (19-13, 2-3 Sun Belt) dropped its first two games of the series to South Alabama (16-11-1, 2-3) on Saturday (March 23) afternoon at the ULM Softball Complex. 

Game One: South Alabama 1, ULM 0 

Maddie Nichols shut down the Jags in the first inning on a fly out and a pair of ground outs. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Meagan Brown was hit by a pitch for ULM's first base runner of the day. The Warhawks were held scoreless in the first. South Alabama struck first after the Jags scored on a pair of ULM errors in the bottom of the second. Following a scoreless ULM bottom of the second inning, Nichols struck out her first batter of the day in the top of the third and sat the Jaguars down on a ground out and a fly out. South Alabama pitcher Olivia Lackie kept the Warhawks' bats in check and recorded a 1-2-3 third inning to keep her team in front, 1-0. 

Nichols worked around two base runners in the top of the fourth and forced the Jags to hit into a pair of fly outs to complete a scoreless fourth. Lackie continued to quiet ULM's bats and tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth. Nichols struck out her second batter in the fifth for the second out of the inning. Kelsey Giddens caught the Sun Belt's leading base stealer, Mackenzie Brasher, stealing for the first time of the season to end the fifth. The Warhawks went down in order and completed five innings of play with South Alabama maintaining its lead. Both teams were unable to push a run across in the sixth. Nichols pitched her sixth scoreless inning to keep the game 1-0 heading to the bottom of the seventh. Lackie completed the no-hitter and secured the 1-0 win for South Alabama. 

Game Two: South Alabama 10, ULM 2 

The Jags took an early 2-0 lead when Gabby Stagner lifted a two-run home run to right center field and added a run in the top of the third. Brooklin Lippert singled on a bunt to third base in the bottom of the third for ULM's first hit. Lippert scored on a Carys Platt RBI groundout to make the score 3-1. Layla Thompson lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Andie Edwards in the fourth to trim South Alabama's lead to one. 

With two outs in the top of the fifth, South Alabama plated three runs on an RBI base hit and a ULM dropped fly ball to go ahead 6-2. Platt singled with two outs in the fifth, but the Jags kept ULM off the scoreboard. USA added a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Lippert singled for her second hit of the day and Platt followed with her second knock of the game, but the Jags finished the game without allowing a run in the seventh and won game two, 10-2. 

ULM will conclude its homestand and the series versus South Alabama tomorrow (March 24) at 1 p.m.