BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball will open its 2016 Sun Belt Conference slate this weekend when UL Monroe comes to Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium for a twinbill on Saturday (1 p.m.) and game three on Sunday (12 p.m.). Live stats for the three-game set will be available right here at appstatesports.com.
Due to so much rain in Monroe, La. and the state as a whole, the Warhawks were forced to travel to Boone for this weekend's series. ULM will be the "home team" on the scoreboard for all three contests. The Mountaineers haven't played their first game in the High Country this early in the season since 2012 when it was played on March 10.
UL Monroe enters Saturday with a record of 12-9, but has lost four straight and five of its last six games. However, three of those five losses came against a pair of top-five powerhouses in LSU (0-8) and Alabama (0-11, 0-5). On the other side, the Black and Gold sit at 4-17 after dropping a pair to UNCG in Greensboro on Wednesday by scores of 0-9 and 1-2.
As a team, ULM is third in the Sun Belt in batting average at .319 but second-to-last in ERA at 3.84. Offensively, the team boasts the best individual average in the conference and seventh-best in the country at .563 (36-for-64). That average comes from Rochelle Roberts. Roberts is also first in the league in hits (36), runs scored (29), triples (4), stolen bases (21-of-22), and second in total bases (57).
She is one of six Warhawks hitting above .300, but one of only five in the entire Sun Belt hitting at least .500. Nationally, the junior is second in stolen bases per game (1.00), second in triples (4), ninth in runs per game (1.38), 14th in on-base percentage (.611), 14th in triples per game (0.19), and 26th in slugging percentage (.891).
In the circle, UL Monroe has been led by Melanie Coyne with a 3.04 ERA. Coyne is 8-6 in 16 appearances, 12 starts, with nine complete games, three shutouts, and one save in 76 innings pitched. She has walked just 26 batters compared to 61 strikeouts, which are good for fourth in the conference, and hitters are hitting .234 against the junior hurler.
