The Warhawks were picked to finish last in the Sun Belt conference and they aren’t happy about it.

Under the leadership of head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill, the team is carrying an “us against the world” mentality into the spring. Entering her 30th season at ULM, Holloway-Hill guarantees that this team will be one of the best that she has coached in recent years.

Last season, injuries swept through the Warhawk dugout like wildfire. For the majority of the year they were forced to use only two pitchers and play inexperienced players at key positions.

“Last year was one of the most difficult times of adversity we have faced,” Holloway-Hill said. “Everybody is back healthy and that’s exciting for us.”

Ten newcomers have been added to nine veterans. A majority of the new faces are transfers that are expected to bring experience and immediate contributions. After playing an NCAA allotted maximum of eight exhibition games in the fall, the team has gelled.

“What I saw that it (fall games) quickly did was give some poise to our team. It gave some competitive stature to our team. It gave the most important thing and that is our chemistry,” Holloway-Hill said.

An entirely new coaching staff joined Holloway-Hill this offseason. Among the new staff is pitching coach and former Troy pitcher, Ashlyn Williams.  She finished her college career at 21st on the all-time NCAA strikeout list. Her ability to give hitters game speed pitching in practice is expected to give Warhawk hitters an advantage come game time.
The non-conference portion of the schedule features teams that will challenge the Warhawks. The team will host two tournaments. The annual Mardi Gras Classic will return to Monroe as well as the first edition of the Warhawk Classic. Texas will hosta tournament as well.

LSU will make the trip from Baton Rouge to Monroe on March 3 as part of a home and away series. Ole Miss follows the Tigers to ULM Softball Complex for a March 12 doubleheader.

“We’re going to always play a very difficult schedule and play it early just because it exposes all of our weaknesses, but it also exposes our strengths,” Holloway-Hill said. “It prepares us for Sun Belt play.”

A new gold uniform will be sported this year along with the tradition white and gray uniforms.

The season kicked off Friday in Auburn, Ala. The Warhawks picked up wins over Tennessee Tech and Morehead State. They are slated for a matchup against Auburn at the time of printing.

Conference play begins March 15 when the Warhawks hit the road to face Texas State in San Marcos. They close the regular season on May 4 at UL-Lafayette.