Boxscore

MONROE ? UL-Monroe used the long ball to defeat Louisiana Tech 12-2 Friday night in game No. 3 of the Mardi Gras Classic at the Louisiana-Monroe Softball Complex.

Lindsay Taylor was the hero for UL-Monroe, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and seven RBI in the win over the Lady Techsters.

?This was unacceptable for a team with our talent,? said Tech head coach Sarah Dawson. ?We let too many factors outside of our control dictate the way we played. We could have executed better with our pitches; we could have answered offensively when they scored runs. We didn?t do either.?

UL-Monroe jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Tech starter Mandi Bertsch (2-1) with an RBI sacrifice fly by Heather Williams scoring Christy Waguespack.

The Indians (4-4) would up the advantage to 4-0 in the bottom of the third inning as Taylor homered off Tech reliever Krissi Oliver over the centerfield fence.

The Lady Techsters scratched for two runs on only one hit in the top of the fourth inning as Danielle Sheridan scored on a double steal and then Kylie Bassett scored on a wild pitch, making the score 4-2.

Any chance of a Techster comeback was doused in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Warhawks scored four times, three coming on a home run by Williams off Oliver.

The game was called in the bottom of the sixth inning as Taylor launched a grand slam home run off Bassett for the final margin of victory.

Bertsch picked up the loss, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks in 2.0 innings of work. Sheridan and Bassett registered the only hits of the contest for the Lady Techsters.

Tech returns to action Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Mississippi Valley State.