THE BASICS
Teams: ULM (0-0 SBC)
Prairie View A&M (0-0)
Sam Houston State (0-0)
Grambling (0-0)
SIUE (0-0)
Northwestern (0-0)
Times (ULM games):
Friday, Feb. 12
3:00 p.m. vs Prairie View A&M
5:00 p.m. vs Sam Houston State
Saturday, Feb. 13
5:00 p.m. vs Grambling
7:00 p.m. vs SIUE
Sunday, Feb. 14
12:00 p.m. vs Northwestern State
Location: Monroe, La. (Geo-Surfaces Field)
Video (ULM games only) - Stats (all games)
Monroe, La. - The ULM softball team open the season at home this weekend as they host their annual Mardi Gras Classic. The tournament is set to start Friday morning, and will continue through Sunday, with a total of 14 games being played on the Warhawks' brand new Geo-Surfaces Field.
NOTABLES
Last Season: ULM's 2016 season ended in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament against South Alabama. ULM posted a 24-34 overall record and 7-17 record in conference play. The team saw its most success last year at home, finishing with a 10-8 record in Monroe. The Warhawks also finished the year ranked 12th in the nation in stolen bases with 122.
Teams: The tournament will be comprised six total teams (including ULM). The teams playing throughout the weekend include Grambling, Northwestern State, Prairie View A&M, Sam Houston State and SIUE. Featuring two schools from Louisiana, two schools from Texas and one from Illinois.
Turf Sweet Turf: The ULM softball team is set to open the season this weekend on the brand new Geo-Surfaces Field, following a gift from Geo-Surfaces for new turf infield at the ULM Softball Complex that was secured by the ULM department of athletics in the fall. The donation from Geo-Surfaces, valued at $175,000, covered the cost of the new GeoGreen™ 'Replicated Grass' surface.. The new turf infield makes ULM only the third NCAA Division I softball facility to have a fully-turfed infield in the country, joining Louisiana Tech and the University of Central Arkansas, which were both also installed by Geo-Surfaces.
Tournament History: The Mardi Gras Tournament was started in 1992 and has been played every year since, with the exception of 1996. In 14 of the tournaments, the Warhawks came out with more winning weekend record. Grambling, Prairie View A&M, SIUE and Northwestern have all played in the tournament before, while this is the first time that Sam Houston will compete in the Mardi Gras Classic. ULM currently holds a 72-41-2 all-time record in the Mardi Gras Classic.
FROM COACH LYON
About the turf: We are very excited for the start of the season, especially on the new turf. With the addition of the turf, it has allowed us to be able to get quality work in on days where the weather has not been great. The turf also fits our style of play as a fast team.
About the team: We believe we have a solid mix of young talent and returners that complement with each other very well. This weekend will be a great test for our kids against some good teams. I am ready to see where we are as a team and what we need to work on going forward.
