Boxscore

MONROE ? Sophomore Krissi Oliver pitched a complete-game shutout to lead Louisiana Tech to a 4-0 win over McNeese State Friday afternoon in game No. 1 of the Louisiana-Monroe Mardi Gras Classic at Warhawk Softball Complex.

Oliver improved her mark to 4-0 as she scattered five hits and didn?t issue a walk while striking out four during seven innings of shutout work.

?She did a really good job,? said Tech head coach Sarah Dawson. ?We had a game-plan of how most effectively to pitch their team, and Krissi executed that game-plan well. She had some big outs. Other than the one double, McNeese State really didn?t hit anything hard off of her. She did a good job of utilizing a lot of different pitches.?

Tech (6-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Emma Barnes drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on the first of her two stolen bases on the afternoon. With two outs, Regan Clark drove a double to left center, scoring Barnes and giving Tech the early advantage.

Barnes struck again in the third inning with a one-out single. After a stolen base and a Danielle bunt single, Rochelle Sandberg singled, driving home Barnes and giving the Lady Techsters a 2-0 advantage.

?The one thing we challenged Emma was before the season was drawing leadoff walks,? Dawson said. ?She has been doing a really good job of that so far. She has been very disciplined at the plate. I?m proud of her. She?s been able to utilize her speed.?

Tech increased their advantage in the bottom of the fourth inning as Ashley Cameron led the frame off with a solo home run over the left field wall. After Amberly Waits singled and stole second, Barnes drove a double over the centerfielder?s head to give Tech a 4-0 lead.

Barnes led Tech with two hits, two runs, two stolen bases and one RBI while Clark, Sandberg and Cameron each added one hit and one RBI.

McNeese State (3-6) pitcher Cori Bram (1-3) picked up the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and one walk.

Tech returns to action Friday night at 6 p.m. against Louisiana-Monroe. All the action can be followed with livestats on www.latechsports.com by going to the softball page.