ATLANTA -- The ULM softball team (30-23, 11-12 Sun Belt) tallied nine runs on 13 hits and rolled past Georgia State (11-41, 1-22) 9-3 and secured the series versus the Panthers on Friday (May 3) afternoon at the Bob Heck Softball Complex in Atlanta. With the win, the Warhawks matched the highest single season Sun Belt win total in program history with 11 SBC victories.
Four Warhawks registered multi-hit games including
Lourdes Bacon,
Meagan Brown,
Kelsey Giddens and
Jacelyn Buck. Giddens and Buck both hit doubles while
Layla Thompson blasted her third home run of the season. Bacon and
Carys Platt both stole a base. In the circle,
Maddie Nichols improved her record to 10-10 after going 4.0 innings and striking out two.
Gianni Hulett picked up her fourth save of the season after tossing three innings and allowing one run.
The Warhawks wasted no time jumping out to a lead in the first after Brown drove in Bacon on an infield hit. Nichols forced the Panthers to hit three fly outs in the bottom of the first. ULM added two runs in the second after Bacon delivered an RBI single to left field and Buck crossed home on a Georgia State wild pitch. Nichols fanned her first batter of the game in a scoreless bottom of the second inning.
After the third and fourth innings were scoreless,
Brooklin Lippert and Brown began the top of the fifth with base hits. Thompson lifted her third home run of the season on a line drive over the left field wall. The Panthers trimmed ULM's lead to four with two runs in the fifth. Hulett entered the game and collected the final three outs of the inning. The Warhawks padded their lead in the seventh inning with three runs after
Taylor Broddick singled home
Andie Edwards, Giddens drove in Platt on a double and Broddick scored on a wild pitch. The Warhawks turned a double play on a sacrifice fly to end the game and secured the series with a 9-3 win.
ULM will play in its final regular season game tomorrow (May 4) at Georgia State with first pitch moved up one hour to 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT in Atlanta. The Sun Belt Conference Tournament pairings will be set after the regular season concludes tomorrow.
