MONROE, La. – In their 10
th shutout of the season, the ULM Warhawks (38-19, 19-5 Sun Belt) took care of business against the Ragin' Cajuns (29-27, 11-13 Sun Belt) in Lafayette. Pitcher
Ashanti McDade recorded her fifth shutout as a Warhawk, a 3-0 score sending the Warhawks onto the semifinals.
Two Cajuns landed on base in the opening frame, as three outs shut down the eighth-seeded team. The Cajun defense returned the favor in the bottom of the first, as two Warhawks reached base, but were left stranded to keep the 0-0 score. Both teams went three-up, three-down in the second, pitcher Bethaney Noble logging her first strikeout. Another hit came in favor of the Cajuns, as the runner was left stranded yet again in the third. A leadoff walk and an intentional walk landed two runners on for ULM, but three outs kept the score knotted at 0.
After holding the opponent 1-2-3 in the fourth, a single added to the hit tally for the Warhawks. But the runner was left stranded yet again. After another three-up, three-down frame in the top of the fifth, ULM was able to get on the board.
Carys Platt led off with a single, a fielder's choice landing Platt on third–the first runner from either team to reach third base–and
Brooklin Lippert on first. With two outs, an intentional walk of
Morgan Brown loaded the bases, a fielder's choice on
Olivia Faggard allowing Platt to cross home for the first score.
Hollie Thomas then hit a sacrifice fly to score one more for the 2-0 lead through five innings.
Kennedy Marceaux led off with a single for the Cajuns, another single getting two on base as the visiting team looked to respond. But two fielder's choices and a flyout closed down the scoring opportunities.
Elle Carter led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, a walk getting two on with two outs.
Meagan Brown then hit a single to drive in the third run of the contest, securing the 3-0 score through six.
McDade recorded two strikeouts in the contest, both coming in the final inning, as she caught a batter looking and one swinging to end the game and solidify the win.
Elle Carter recorded the lone multi-hit game of the Warhawks with two, three other Warhawks logging a hit.
Meagan Brown,
Olivia Faggard and
Hollie Thomas each recorded RBIs as well.
Morgan Brown was intentionally walked three times as she saw one at-bat. Faggard led the defense with 13 putouts at third base,
Carson Jansky logging five assists.
Ashanti McDade struck out two in the complete-game shutout, her fifth shutout of the season. McDade allowed no runs and no walks, recording 63 strikes of her 89 total pitches.
The Warhawks defeat the Ragin' Cajuns for the fourth time this season, extending their win streak over the Cajuns to five, a program record in the series history. ULM advances to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals for the fourth time since joining the Sun Belt, the last time being in 2025.
ULM will face either (5) South Alabama or (4) Southern Miss on Friday (May 8) at 6 p.m. at Lamson Park.
