MOBILE, Ala. – The eighth-seeded ULM softball team will begin play at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament tomorrow in a 10 a.m. first pitch against fifth-seeded Georgia Southern inside Jaguar Field.
The Warhawks were swept by the Ragin' Cajuns this past weekend, moving to 2-7 since the Louisiana Tech series where junior Rochelle Roberts, the SBC's batting average leader, has since been sidelined due to injury. Sophomore Hunter Hogan has four hits in 14 at-bats as the primary fill-in but the outfield as a whole has notched just 10 hits in 69 at-bats (.145) without Roberts.
“We knew going into the season that the outfield is our deepest position,” said head softball coach Corey Lyon. “I have a ton of confidence in Carlie (Comeaux), Vic (Pederson) and Hogan's defensive abilities – where we are really hurting right now is trying to find some consistency on offense. Really it's just about finding the right mix to give us the best opportunity to win. Luckily, we have some bright spots and a real bright future with our young kids coming up.”
Senior Amye Barre has batted a team-best .333 (7-21) with three home runs during Roberts' absence. Barre spearheads the Warhawks this season with 10 homers and 36 RBIs.
“I think [Barre] understands that being able to score runs right now are at a premium. She's really bought into the idea of picking her game up in order to help us in whatever way she's had to. I'm excited for her going into the SBC Tournament. This could be a great week for her.”
ULM holds a 7-2 series record against Georgia Southern with both losses coming earlier this season at ULM Softball Complex. The Eagles overpowered the Warhawks in the first two games, hitting four home runs while outscoring ULM 15-5 to claim the series.
The Warhawks bounced back with a 4-3 victory in the final game of the series behind Barre's solo home run and junior ace Melanie Coyne's six-inning outing. ULM has four losses in SBC play by just one run.
“I think one of the things that our kids really understand now is - without (Roberts), our margin of for error is small. One good thing about this matchup is that Georgia Southern's team is basically all new. While this will be a little bit of a new experience for us, it's also going to be a little bit of a new experience for them. I think that we match up well with Georgia Southern.”
ULM had success against GS ace Dixie Raley, the only SBC pitcher to shut out the top-seeded Ragin' Cajuns this season. The Warhawks tagged Raley for seven earned runs during her nine innings pitched.
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