MONROE, La. – The ULM softball team (1-4) arrives in Monroe to open play at home for the first time in the 2026 season. The Warhawks will face Stephen F. Austin (4-1) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 10). The game will not be available to stream, though live stats can be found at ulmwarhawks.com/stats.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SFA –
The Warhawks will be facing the Jacks for the 101st meeting, as both teams are a dead-even 50-50 in the series. Stephen F. Austin has been competing against ULM in softball since the team's inception in 1980, as ULM claims a heavy 33-21 advantage when playing in Monroe. The last meeting between the teams was last season, a 6-3 victory as a part of ULM's Warhawk Invitational. The Warhawks faced the Jacks twice in 2025, sweeping them to extend their win streak to four in the series.
SCOUTING THE JACKS –
The Jacks are sitting at 4-1 to open the season, defeating South Dakota State, St. Bonaventure, Texas Southern and Bucknell in the Lion Classic last weekend. Returner Ellie Vance led the team across the weekend, collecting five RBIs with a .588 batting average across five games, also notching a home run. Vance went on to claim Southland Conference honors as Hitter of the Week. Crimson Bryant led the charge in the circle in the opening weekend, posting 26 strikeouts for a 1.34 ERA in her two starts, both ending as shutout victories. Last season, the Jacks went 27-29, finishing sixth in the Southland Conference.
LAST TIME OUT –
ULM went 1-4 on the road in their opening weekend, defeating Tulsa at the Twisted Vines Bayou Bash. The Warhawks fell to No. 1 Texas Tech in a 13-1 five-inning contest, Maryssa Zenzen's solo home run scoring the lone run. ULM then dropped a contest to McNeese on Friday night, 6-2, with a homer from Reece Briggs scoring two in the sixth inning. Bristin Bordeau saw notable time in the game, striking out four batters in 3.1 innings. ULM claimed Saturday's first game against Tulsa, a 4-3 victory sparked by Zenzen and Elle Carter, Ashanti McDade credited with the win.
ULM closed out on Saturday with a five-inning defeat to McNeese, 9-1, Kelsey Kovar claiming the lone run with sac fly in the second inning. In a tight contest, the Warhawks concluded tournament play with a 5-4 defeat to North Texas. ULM led through the first three innings, a strong comeback by the Mean Green turning the tides. Meagan Brown snagged three RBIs with a double and a single, Zenzen hitting her second home run of the season while Skylar Waggoner struck out five batters.
HOME OPENER –
The Warhawks are 24-18-2 in their home openers all-time, sitting at 4-3 in the Molly Fichtner era. ULM is also on a current four-game victory streak in their home openers, dating back to 2022. Last season the Warhawks went 22-3 when playing at the ULM Softball Complex, also breaking their attendance record in 2025. Last season, ULM defeated Jackson State, 9-1, in a five-inning game to open home play.
NEW ON THE BAYOU –
The Warhawks are bringing in nine newcomers to add to the 2026 team, including seven freshmen and two transfers. In the pitching circle, ULM welcomes Cal transfer Ashanti McDade, Jacksonville transfer Skylar Waggoner, freshman Tessa Ivy and freshman Abagail Creighton to the bayou. McDade appeared in 37 games across three seasons for the Bears, pitching 65.2 innings with 35 strikeouts. Waggoner spent two seasons with Jacksonville, the southpaw posting a 2.53 ERA across 243 innings. Ivy arrives after competing with the Colorado Batbusters, also awarded as the 2023 Continental League Pitcher of the Year. Creighton, from Monroe, was District MVP in the 2023-24 season, also a four-time All-District pitcher for St. Frederick.
At infielder, freshmen Tessie Harrison, Dally Engle, Kailey Monsef, and Carson Jansky join the squad. Harrison was named to the THSCA Super Elite Team last season. Engle attended Stigler HS, maintaining a .500 batting average her senior season. Monsef arrives from Pearland HS after reaching the UIL state semifinals in 2023, also competing with the Texas Riptide. Jansky posted a .540 batting average and 82 RBIs her junior season, winning a Texas 3A State Championship in 2022 and named tournament MVP. To round out the newcomers, freshman Cecilia Gonzales arrives after competing with Hotshots National and attending Legacy The School of Sports Sciences.
LOOKING AHEAD –
The ULM softball team will hit the road for FGCU next weekend, competing in the FGCU Eagle Invitational. The tournament will open on Friday (Feb. 13), with competition against Hofstra at 8 a.m. CT and host FGCU at 12:30 p.m. CT.
