Coming back to play in front of your home crowd and sleep in your own bed is one of the best feelings for an athlete. This proved to be true as the Warhawks softball team won both of their games on Saturday.

With ace pitcher Melanie Coyne on the mound, the Warhawks had no trouble letting in runs and held the Appalachian State Mountaineers to zero runs. However, Coyne isn’t just a defensive threat.

In game one of the weekend double header, the Warhawks used their strong bats in the first inning to pick up two runs off of a Coyne RBI.

With runners on second and third base, Coyne hit a line drive out to left center. Unfortunately, she was out at third base after trying to stretch for extra bases. Jayden Mount and Cheyenne Lyon would score on the play giving ULM a 2-0 lead.

While the only runs of the game came in the first inning, that isn’t to say the Mountaineers had their chances. The Warhawks dodged multiple jams in the late innings of the game.

At the end of the contest, Appalachian State stranded a total of nine runners and was unable to provide offense off of their four hits tallied.

After the game, Coyne improved her record to 14-8 on the season and lead the team to its fifth Sun Belt conference win on the season.

In game two, the Warhawks had pitcher Paige Murray in the circle with a 2.60 era. The veteran pitcher pitched four straight shutout innings before giving up a run to the Mountaineers, which tied up the game at 1-1. Coyne had some uplifting compliments about Murray’s pitching.

“She exudes confidence and command in the circle, and it’s inspiring on defense,” Coyne said.

In extra innings, Appalachian State had the bases loaded with no outs. But after a fly out, ground out and a clutch strike out by Murray, the Warhawks were hyped with motivation heading into the bottom of the inning.

It was Mount and Lyon who got on base yet again and let their teammates bring them in. When designated player Jessie Watts hit a ball up the middle for a walk off single, ULM captured it’s second win of the day.

“It was electrifying to see Jayden (Mount), Hunter (Hogan) and Jessie (Watts) step up in big situations,” Coyne said. “There is no other group of girls I’d rather spend my senior season with.”

The team now turns it’s focus to I-20 rival Louisiana Tech. The Warhawks will host the Bulldogs this Wednesday, April 12, at 6 p.m. at the ULM Softball Complex.