Feb. 13, 2011

Box Score

BATON ROUGE - LSU pounded out 12 hits and capitalized on a porous defensive performance by Louisiana Tech to down the Lady Techsters 10-2 in five innings Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Tiger Classic.

Tech (2-3) fell for the second time in three days to the 19th ranked Tigers as the Lady Techsters finished the three-day event with two wins in five games.

Head coach Sarah Dawson said that although she was extremely disappointed in her team's effort in Sunday's loss, the weekend was beneficial for the young squad.

"We got everyone in and got a good look at all of our kids," Dawson said. "I was glad we got those opportunities. I thought our pitching for the most part was pretty solid this weekend. We had too many walks at times but for the most part our pitchers gave our defense balls they could handle.

"I think offensively we made strides in each game except for today. I don't think we had the same pride today at the plate that we had in the other four games. That will be something we will have to do more consistently. It was very frustrating that for four games we made progress but then took some steps back today. It's early in the season and it's something we will have to address. We need to eliminate all of our mistakes and move forward."

LSU wasted little time in jumping on the Lady Techsters Sunday, plating three runs in the first and five more in the second thanks to three errors committed by LA Tech.

Sophomore hurler Michelle Jones got the nod in the circle for the Techsters and Dawson said that she was actually fairly pleased with what she saw.

"Michelle did a descent job, but we played horrible defense behind her," Dawson said. "We turned singles into doubles. It was one thing after another. I was actually pleased with the way Michelle threw and how well she competed despite our lack of defense. She got the ball and she threw fairly well. It showed in the innings when we did play defense."

Trailing 8-0 after two innings, the Lady Techsters plated a pair of runs in the in the top of the third inning. Cassie Krieg and Jones drew back-to-back walks to open the frame and then moved up to second and third on a throwing error by the LSU shortstop on a sacrifice bunt by Charday Wilson.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Heather Doiron drove home Tech's first run with an infield single to shortstop, cutting the LSU lead to 8-1. Janna Frandrup then picked up an RBI when she was hit with a pitch, making the score 8-2.

However, LSU pitcher Meghan Patterson then retired the next three batters without allowing another run to score, ending the Lady Techsters best threat of the game.

The Tigers added single runs in the fourth and the fifth innings to end the game with the eight-run rule.

Tech recorded three hits on the day with Frandrup, Doiron and Charday Wilson each registering one a piece.

Jones (0-1) took the loss in the circle, allowing 10 runs - eight earned - on 12 hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Frandrup earned all-tournament team honors for the Lady Techsters, batting .364 for the weekend with four hits, one home run and a team-high five RBI. She also drew three walks and recorded a team-best .563 on-base percentage.

The Lady Techsters will return to action next weekend when they compete in the Mississippi State Bulldog Round Robin Friday through Sunday with games against the Bulldogs, Butler and Southern Illinois.