The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) softball team is set to host Grambling State in a midweek matchup on Wednesday, March 4, at the ULM Softball Complex. The Warhawks enter the contest with a 13-5 record, while Grambling State stands at 6-8.
This game marks the 39th meeting between the two programs. ULM holds a strong record against Grambling, having won their last 23 encounters dating back to 2004. At home, the Warhawks have been particularly dominant, posting a 24-1 record against the Tigers and remaining unbeaten in Monroe since 1986. Last season’s matchup saw ULM secure a 7-0 win at Grambling with pitchers Victoria Abrams and Dakota Lake combining for a no-hitter. In their most recent meeting this season, Dakota Lake pitched a complete-game shutout and struck out nine batters as ULM won 2-0.
Grambling State’s season so far includes wins over Alabama A&M, SEMO, Alabama State, South Carolina State, and Mississippi Valley State. Kamryn Broussard leads the Tigers with a .444 batting average and has collected six doubles among her 16 hits. Katelynn Walls has contributed with ten stolen bases. Pitcher Jaidan Richard holds an ERA of 4.62 across 36.1 innings pitched. The Tigers are under new leadership this year with first-year head coach D’Maria Matthews.
ULM is coming off a challenging weekend at the Ole Miss Classic where they went winless in four games against Jacksonville State and Ole Miss. Despite Morgan Brown hitting two home runs in one game—her second multi-home run game—ULM struggled to convert hits into runs and dropped both contests to Jacksonville State by scores of 1-0 and 8-2. Against Ole Miss, ULM was held scoreless through four innings before allowing seven runs in one frame; Hollie Thomas drove in their only run as they lost 7-1. In their final game of the tournament, Thomas hit another home run but it was not enough to overcome Ole Miss’s lead in a 5-1 defeat.
Several ULM pitchers have achieved career-high strikeout performances this season: Maddie Nichols struck out eleven batters in five innings earlier this year; Skylar Waggoner followed up with thirteen strikeouts during a complete-game one-hitter shutout—the highest single-game total by any Sun Belt pitcher this season—and Dakota Lake set her own career mark with nine strikeouts versus Grambling.
Offensively, ULM showcased power when three different players—Maryssa Zenzen (inside-the-park), Morgan Brown, and Dally Engle—hit home runs during one inning against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on February 21.
In preseason recognition, Meagan Brown, Morgan Brown, and Brooklin Lippert were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt team after earning First Team honors last year. Morgan Brown posted notable statistics last season including sixteen doubles and thirteen home runs while leading the conference with sixty-two RBIs. Meagan Brown hit .404 with eighteen doubles among seventy-two hits while scoring fifty-two runs; all figures rank highly within ULM’s single-season records. Brooklin Lippert led off every game last year for ULM and recorded a nineteen-game hitting streak alongside thirty-one stolen bases.
The current roster features three local athletes: Maddie Nichols from West Monroe High School; Elle Carter from Neville High School; and freshman Abagail Creighton from St. Frederick High School.
Following Wednesday’s contest against Grambling State, ULM will travel for its final nonconference tournament of the season at Central Arkansas’s Milisa Lamb/Shane Lamb Tournament starting Friday against Central Arkansas.
