Hot dogs, sunflower seeds, and the cracking of bats. Yes, it’s that time of year again. Softball season is underway, and the Warhawks softball team opened up their season here in Monroe at the Mardi Gras Classic Friday night with two wins. In a double header, ULM defeated Prairie View A&M 10-0 and Sam Houston State University 12-0.

The Warhawks had hot bats all night long, and it all started with Prairie View. In the first inning, the Warhawks would score three runs. Prairie View walked Sydney McKay, the first ULM batter, who would steal second base shortly after to place herself in scoring position. Sidney Coy hit a perfect bunt to score the first run of the season. A pop fly that was missed and a single would bring in the Warhawks’ next two runs.

Fast forward to the bottom of the third inning, and the Warhawks’ defense is still playing lights out by only allowing one hit thus far. ULM came back out to bat with the score still 3-0, but not for long. The combination of McKay and Coy attacking the Prairie View defense boosted the Warhawks further ahead. McKay hit a single and stole second. Coy placed another perfect bunt. With runners on first and third, Cheyanne Lyon blasted one to the fence for two RBI’s making the score 5-0.

The remainder of the game was a collection of singles and some errors on the Prairie View side of the ball which brought in the remaining five runs. Coach Corey Lyon was proud of the beginning of the season.

“We executed perfectly tonight,” said head coach Lyon. “We got big hits with two outs.”

Next up was Sam Houston State University who last year beat the Warhawks twice. ULM was looking to make a statement. It was an interesting first inning for the Warhawks with a bunt and a batter hit by pitch. This led to two runners on when freshman Jayden Mount stepped up to the plate. With two outs and battling at the plate for a few pitches, Mount skyrocketed a ball up and over left field for a three-run homer. This was the first homerun of the season. This made the score 3-0, but the Warhawks were not done yet. After a single by Vanessa Garcia, Melanie Coyne smashed a home run over the center field fence. This was a two-run homer, and the score was at 5-0 in favor of the Warhawks.

ULM’s hot hitting continued over the next four and a half innings as they dialed up six total doubles. Five of those six came in the bottom of the third inning which allowed seven runs to compliment those doubles. The score became 12-0, and this is where it remained for the rest of the game.

Coach Lyon couldn’t give out enough compliments to his team after their first two wins.

“Pitching was great and we played good defense,” Lyon said. “You do that and you’ll have a chance to win every game.”