RUSTON - Louisiana Tech will close out the home portion of its 2005 schedule this weekend when the Lady Techsters host No. 17 ranked Fresno State Friday and Saturday in a three-game Western Athletic Conference series.

The two teams will play a single game Friday at 5 p.m. at the Lady Techster Softball Complex before completing the series with a 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday. Following Saturday's final game, Louisiana Tech seniors Leah Beasley, Lindsey Meadows, Amber Miles, Ashley Palma and Brittany Stanley will be honored.

Tech (18-40, 2-7 WAC) has the giant task of trying to break out of a slump against one of the top teams in the country as Fresno State (32-10, 8-1 WAC) eyes its 24th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, currently holding a one-game lead in the league standings.

The Bulldogs are led by the one-two punch of infielder Christina Clark and pitcher Jamie Southern, considered two of the top players in the nation. Clark continues her assault on the Fresno State record books this season entering this weekend's series with a .373 batting average, 11 home runs and 28 runs batted in.

Southern is also impressive offensively, batting .321 with eight home runs and 25 RBI but has made her biggest contribution on the mound, registering a 19-3 mark with a 0.53 earned run average. Southern has registered 193 strikeouts in only 140 innings pitched this season.

Louisiana Tech hopes to snap a 12-game losing streak as the Lady Techsters haven't won since a 4-3 decision over Nevada on April 8.

Miles and Stanley will play their final three home games and end their Tech careers as two of the top four base stealers in the programs history while Meadows still has an outside shot at breaking the Lady Techster single season strikeout record.