SETTING THE SCENE
• ULM softball will wrap up a four-game road trip on Tuesday (April 2) evening when the Warhawks face No. 6 LSU at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge. The Warhawks started the road stretch 3-0 after sweeping its Sun Belt weekend series at Marshall to finish March.

• The Warhawks outscored the Thundering Herd 23-9 in Huntington and hit .311 as a team. Meagan Brown drove in seven RBIs including a two-run home run in Friday night's 16-8 win. Layla Thompson and Madelyn England both launched their first home runs in a Warhawk uniform during the series. Victoria Abrams, Bristin Bordeau and Gianni Hulett threw a combined shutout in Sunday's 4-0 win.

• Newcomer Carys Platt has hit .413 and holds a .488 on base percentage in her first 36 games wearing a ULM uniform, which are both the third-highest in the SBC. The junior from Fellsmere, Fla. ranks fourth in the SBC with 14 stolen bases.  Platt played two seasons at Florida Southwestern State College and led her team to a pair of NJCCA National Championships.  Lourdes Bacon has compiled 41 hits, which is the 13th-highest total in the Sun Belt. The UTSA transfer ranks 22nd in the country with 18 stolen bases and is second in the SBC. Bacon earned All-SBC Second Team honors in 2022. As a team, ULM leads the conference in total stolen bases (67) and second in stolen bases per game (1.86/game).

• LSU transfer Victoria Abrams is set to face her former team in Tuesday's game. Abrams is 9-6 in 16 starts this season and has pitched two complete-game shutouts, including a five-inning perfect game in ULM's run-rule win over Green Bay in February. Abrams received the 2020 Medallion Award (LSU Mikey Award) and was named to the 2020 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll during her career in Baton Rouge. 

Sophomore pitcher Maddie Nichols enters Tuesday ranked fifth in the conference with 92 strikeouts. The West Monroe, La., native has tossed five complete games, including a pair of seven-inning wins versus Lindenwood and Syracuse. Her strikeout total ranks fourth in the SBC. Redshirt junior Gianni Hulett recorded a pair of saves in Huntington and ranks third in the conference with three saves.

• Senior Andie Edwards leads ULM with 29 RBIs and has hit nine sacrifice flys so far this season, which is the highest number in the nation. Edwards has started her senior campaign hitting .262 with nine extra-base hits and an. Freshman Meagan Brown, has powered 11 extra-base hits and has driven in 28 RBIs in her first 35 games. Freshman first baseman Maryssa Zenzen hit her first career home run at Southern Miss, which was the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning in the Warhawks' comeback win over USM. Zenzen has made 19 starts and is hitting .250 for ULM in her first collegiate season. 

• The freshman duo of Brooklin Lippert and Elle Carter have both been key contributors to ULM's early success this season. Lippert, a utility player from Loganville, Ga., has hit .304 with 21 hits and 18 runs scored to. Carter, a graduate of Neville High School, has made 28 starts for the Warhawks and has powered six extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in her first collegiate season.

• The Warhawks are seeking their first win versus LSU and are 0-15 versus the Tigers, including 0-11 on the road at Tiger Park.

UP NEXT
ULM returns to Monroe to host Georgia Southern in a three-game Sun Belt series starting on Friday.