CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina softball team dropped a pair of Sun Belt Conference games Friday afternoon to the ULM Warhawks at St. John Stadium.
With the two losses, CCU dropped to 15-23 overall and 1-14 in conference play. ULM improved to 23-16 on the season and 9-9 in SBC play with the doubleheader sweep.
Game 1 - ULM 2, Coastal Carolina 0
It would take nearly five innings for either team to score a run, as the Warhawks took the lead in the top of the fifth when Lourdes Bacon singled to left field before stealing second and advancing to third on a Chanticleer error. Gabby Davila sent a single to right field and drove home Bacon to put the visitors up 1-0.
Coastal looked to answer in the bottom of the fifth as
Abbey Montoya reached on a Warhawks fielding error.
Shae Schreckengost singled to center field but not before ULM turned a double play to help keep the Chants off the scoreboard.
ULM added its second run of the day in the top of the sixth, as Kenney Johnson sent a stand-up double to left-center field followed by a Jacelyn Buck single to advance Johnson one base. A sacrifice fly from Madelyn Fletcher sent Johnson home and put ULM up 2-0.
In the circle,
Kaitlin Beasley-Polko (8-7) recorded her fifth complete game of the season as the graduate student threw 7.0 innings of work and allowed seven hits, two runs, and just two walks while recording seven strikeouts.
Game 2 – ULM 6, Coastal Carolina 3
Both teams struck early in game two of the twin bill, as ULM tallied the first run of the contest courtesy of a sacrifice fly to put the Warhawks up 1-0.
In the bottom of the first inning, Thomas, who hit a home run in each of her first two at-bats in the evening contest, sent her third home run of the season deep into the palms tree in center field to give Coastal its first home run of the series and tie the score at 1-1.
In the top of the second, the Warhawks added four runs to make the score 5-1 before
Maddy Jennings joined the Chants home run party in the bottom half of the frame, as the true freshman sent her fifth home run of the season deep over the center-field wall to make the score 5-2.
Thomas sent her second solo home run of the day and fourth of the season over the center-field fence to pull the Chanticleers within two runs and make the score 5-3 in the bottom of the third inning.
It was a pitcher's battle between the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings as both teams would go scoreless.
In the top of the seventh, the Warhawks added their final run, as Kennedy Johnson singled to center field followed by Gabby Davila's RBI double to right field to make the score 6-3.
In the circle,
Mady Volpe (1-4) suffered the loss as the freshman saw 1.0 inning of work and allowed three runs, two hits, and three walks.
Nicolette Picone and
Raelee Brabham also saw action against the Warhawks with Picone throwing 3.2 innings of work and Brabham tallying four strikeouts.
CCU will now get set to welcome Georgia State to St. John Stadium, April 22-23.
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.
