April 23, 2009
RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech sits in fifth place in the Western Athletic Conference standings and any hopes of moving up before the upcoming league tournament starts this weekend when the Lady Techsters host San Jose State in a three-game series.
The Lady Techsters (26-19, 7-7 WAC) and Spartans (18-30, 5-10) play a single game Friday at 6 p.m. at the Lady Techster Softball Complex followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.
Senior Day ceremonies are planned following the final game of the series Saturday as Lady Techster seniors Emma Barnes, Lyndsey McIlwain, Krissi Oliver and Danielle Sheridan will be honored.
Tech currently sits only 2.5 games out of first place in the WAC standings behind Nevada (10-4), Fresno State (10-5), Hawaii (10-5) and New Mexico State (9-5). With only two weekends left in the regular season, the Lady Techsters still have an opportunity to win the regular season title although leapfrogging all four teams could prove difficult.
Head coach Sarah Dawson's team ends its regular season conference slate at New Mexico State the weekend of May 1 and 2 before traveling to the league tournament in Fresno May 6-9.
San Jose State has struggled due to key injuries this season as the Spartans have been without first team all-WAC performer Brittany McConnell, who batted .467 through seven games this year before going down with an injury.
As a team, SJSU is batting .252 on the year but have only hit 10 home runs which is three less than McConnell recorded last season for the Spartans.
San Jose State is led offensively by Kelli Fangonilo (.319, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 11 SB), Sarah Taylor (.301, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 15 SB) and Kayla Hayes (.297, 1 HR, 18 RBI).
In the circle, the Spartans have three hurlers who see work in Amanda Pridmore (8-9, 2.77 ERA), Elyssa Fox (4-14, 4.45) and Deanna Mauer (6-6, 4.48). Pridmore pitched an impressive game Wednesday night in a 3-0 loss to 4th ranked Stanford, holding the Cardinal scoreless until two outs in the sixth inning.
The Lady Techsters have won six of their last seven games, including a 2-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday.
Junior Amberly Waits continues to tear up the LA Tech record books, currently hitting .465 on the season with 12 doubles and 13 home runs. She has driven in 47 runs and scored a team-high 30.
Kylie Bassett (.273, 7 HR, 25 RBI) and Jessica Kirby (.250, 9 HR, 21 RBI) have also provided some offensive punch while Danielle Sheridan (.289, 26 runs) and Emma Barnes (.243, 28 runs) have been the table setters.
Tech will turn to sophomore Meghan Krieg (15-4, 1.65) and senior Krissi Oliver (9-13, 3.14 ERA) in the circle.
The games can be seen live over the internet at www.latechtv.com by clicking on the Athletics link on the top right hand portion of the page starting approximately one hour prior to first pitch.
