MONROE, La. – The ULM softball team (30-16, 10-5 Sun Belt) returns home after two weekends on the road, hosting Georgia Southern (27-17, 11-4 Sun Belt) at the ULM Softball Complex. The Warhawks will take on the Eagles on Thursday (April 17) at 6 p.m. CT, on Friday at 6 p.m. and close out the series on Saturday at noon. All games will be available to stream on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at ULMWarhawks.com. ULM looks to continue defending their undefeated record at home, while Georgia Southern looks to bounce back from a midweek loss.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN – 

The Warhawks will take on the Eagles for the 32nd, 33rd and 34th meetings this weekend, ULM fighting to maintain dominance in the series. ULM holds an 21-10 record against Georgia Southern, a series dating back to 2011, when the Warhawks won in a 10-5 contest in Knoxville, Tenn. ULM looks to continue their three-game win streak over the Eagles after a sweep in Monroe last season. In 10 weekend series against Georgia Southern, ULM has claimed six of them, three being sweeps. 

SCOUTING THE EAGLES –

The Eagles sit tied at the top of the Sun Belt standings with a 27-17 record and 11-4 conference record. Most recently, Georgia Southern fell to Mercer in a midweek game, 4-2. In conference play, Georgia Southern has not lost a series yet this season, their last series loss coming one year ago vs. Troy. In nonconference play, the Eagles have notably defeated Maryland, UCF, Providence and Michigan. Delanie Thames leads the team in home runs and RBIs, hitting her seventh in the loss against Mercer. Pitcher Maddie Johnson has received Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week honors twice, posting a 1.69 ERA, pitching 12 complete games and four shutouts.

LAST TIME OUT –

The ULM softball team went 2-1 in Boone, clinching their first Sun Belt series on the road this season. In the first game, the Mountaineers got off to an early 6-0 lead to ward off the Warhawks. A fielder's choice and throwing error scored the first two runs for ULM, an RBI ground-out by Meagan Brown making it a 3-6 contest. App State went on to add two more scores to the tally, ULM scoring off another RBI ground-out for the loss, 4-8.

In the second game, ULM looked to bounce back and did so in high-scoring fashion. An early 5-0 score on the Warhawk side helped drive momentum throughout the game. Maryssa Zenzen started the tally with an RBI single, Meagan Brownlogged an RBI ground-out and Morgan Brown hit a three-run homer for the opening scores. After the Mountaineers scored a run to chip at the lead, Brown hit another three-run homer, Maddie Nichols reaching on an error to allow two more runs to score for the 10-1 lead in the third. App State hit a home run to cut the lead down, but a two-RBI single by Carys Platt and a fielding error tacking on run no. 13, ULM ran away with the run-rule victory, 13-2.

The rubber match was a close call, as the Mountaineers hit an early solo home run for the 1-0 lead in the first. The Warhawks held off until the fourth, as two RBI doubles–by Zenzen and Layla Thompson–took the lead for ULM. In the top of the seventh, Meagan Brown's sac fly scored one more. While the Mountaineers made an attempt at a rally, it fell short due to a Warhawk double play to end the inning, clinching the series, 3-2. 

SUN BELT HONORS –

Carys Platt opened the week receiving Sun Belt Player of the Week honors, after a stunning weekend where she posted an .889 batting average, three runs, a triple, two stolen bases and two RBIs. This is the first player of the week honor that ULM Softball has gotten this season. Platt sits at first in the Sun Belt in batting average, fourth in hits, fifth in runs and stolen bases in conference play. 

TWO OUTS –

The Warhawks tend to score when pressure mounts. ULM has scored 115 runs of their 299 total runs this season when there are two outs in the inning. On March 1 against Memphis, the Warhawks scored six runs in the third inning with two outs. On March 16 versus Georgia State, ULM scored eight runs with two outs in the third inning.

HAVING FUN AT HOME –

The Warhawks have the winningest home record in the NCAA this season, as they remain undefeated at the ULM Softball Complex, going 19-0 so far this season. ULM is one of 10 teams in the nation that remain undefeated at home, after going a combined 10-0 in their two hosted tournaments and sweeping two Sun Belt opponents. Most recently, the Warhawks defeated Northwestern State at home, 10-4, on April 2. 

LOOKING AHEAD –

The ULM softball team will remain at home to play a midweek game against local foe Grambling State. First pitch on Tuesday (April 22) is scheduled for 6 p.m.