CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina softball team will be on the road this weekend, March 13-14, for a Sun Belt Conference series in Monroe, La. as they take on the ULM Warhawks at the ULM Softball Complex.

The Chanticleers enter the weekend series 6-7 overall . Coastal Carolina went 1-2 last weekend at the FAU Tournament, March 5-7,  in Boca Raton, Fla. with a win over Florida Atlantic and losses to Illinois State and No. 10 Kentucky.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

• The Chanticleers will be on the road for the third time this season, and this time they will travel to Monroe, La., to open up Sun Conference play when they take on the UL Monroe.
• Coastal is 1-2 on the road this season, with their only win coming against Florida Atlantic on March 5.
• Due to the shortened 2020 season, this is the first time the Warhawks and the Chanticleers have faced off since the semifinals at the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship.

LOOKIN' BACK

• Last weekend at the Florida Atlantic Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., CCU went 1-2 as they opened up the weekend on March 5 with a 4-2 victory over the host, FAU Owls.  The Chanticleers had a well-balanced starting lineup, with seven of the nine batters collecting at least one hit in the game.
• After having both games washed out due to rain on Saturday, Coastal closed out the weekend on Sunday with consecutive losses to Florida International and No. 10 Kentucky.

MASHING MAKIYA

• Tacoma, Wash., native Makiya Thomas has hit safely in 11 of the 13 Chanticleer games this season.
• Thomas is fifth in the conference with a .419 batting average and ninth with a .469 slugging percentage.
• The senior has hit safely in the last five games and has batted .563 (9-for-16) with four RBI and a double in that span.
• Thomas is leading the team in virtually every offensive category, including; batting average (.419), slugging percentage (.674), at-bats (43), hits (18), multi-hit games (6), multi-RBI games (3), doubles, (5), home runs tied (2), total bases (29), and stolen bases (6).
• The left-handed batter is one of two Chanticleers to be selected to the 2021 preseason All-Sun Belt team.

KEEP 'EM GUESSIN'

• Junior outfielder Sydney Guess comes into the conference season with a four-game hitting streak and has batted .500 (5-for-10) with three RBI, two doubles, scored two runs and two walks.
• Guess batted 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI versus No. 10 Kentucky.  The Mechanicsville, Va. native gave the Chants an early 2-0 lead with her first-inning two-RBI double against the Wildcats.

PITCHING LIKE ICE

• In the last 11.2 innings of work in 2021, sophomore pitcher Iyanla De Jesus has struck out 11 batters, allowed nine hits, four runs, and her first career save.
• De Jesus pitched in all three games at the FAU Tournament (March 5-7) as she tallied 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts, allowed two runs, and earned a save.

MOVING UP IN HISTORY

• Senior Kaitlin Beasley-Polko collected her 43rd career win on March 7 versus Florida Atlantic as she pitched six innings, allowed two runs, one earned with six strikeouts.  In the victory, she tied Ashley Frederick ('10) for eighth all-time in the 4-2 win.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

• ULM comes into the first conference series of the season with an overall record of 6-11 after they swept a doubleheader with Grambling State on Wednesday night by the scores of 4-2 and 8-0.
• Gianni Hulett leads the Warhawk pitching staff in appearances (12), innings pitched (36.1), ERA (2.67), and is tied for the team lead with two wins.  On Wednesday, Amber Koons threw the first no-hitter of her career as UL Monroe defeated the Tigers, 8-0. Koons struck out eight batters in the five-inning no-hitter.
• Korie Kreps leads the Warhawk team into the weekend with a season batting average of .371, seven doubles, a triple, and a home run. Veteran centerfielder Jayden Mount leads the ULM team with 11 RBI.

HISTORY AGAINST

• The all-time series is tied 5-5 between the Chanticleers and the Warhawks. In 2018, ULM took the season series 3-3, but at no other time in five-year history between the two, either school could win more than two consecutive games. The last time the two have faced off was in the 2019 season as the Chanticleers took the regular-season series 2-1 and won the previous two meetings, including the Sun Belt semifinals 4-2 in eight innings.  On May 11, 2019, it took extra-innings, but then senior Ashley Guillette pitched the Chanticleers into the Sun Belt championship game with a complete-game, nine inning-effort as she allowed just two runs.

The Chanticleers and Warhawks get the series started on Saturday, March 13 with a doubleheader scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET. The two teams will close out the series on Sunday, March 14, with the first pitched scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Both games on Saturday will be shown on ESPN +.

For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers(Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com