April 3, 2012
RUSTON - Louisiana Tech is scheduled to host Northwestern State Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a single non-conference game at the Lady Techster Softball Complex as long as Mother Nature cooperates.
Forecasts are calling for possible showers in the area; however, head coach Sarah Dawson said a decision on postponing or canceling the contest wouldn't be made until late morning or early afternoon.
Tech has already had three home dates postponed or cancelled due to rain this year as the Lady Techsters have only played six out of 34 games in Ruston. The Lady Techsters are also scheduled to play a three-game Western Athletic Conference series this weekend against defending league champion New Mexico State Friday and Saturday.
Northwestern State (13-23) enters the contest riding the hot bat of Ruston native Samantha Roberts, who has hit three home runs in her last four games, including a grand slam in a loss to Texas-San Antonio. Roberts leads the Demons with seven home runs and 20 RBI on the year.
Tara McKenney (.350, 11 RBI) and Cali Burke (.350, 13 RBI) lead Northwestern State at the plate while Brianna Rodriguez (.307, 3 HR, 13 RBI) and Cassandra Barefield (.281, 4 HR, 16 RBI) are close behind in a number of offensive categories.
In the circle, Kelee Grimes (6-8, 3.74 ERA), Kylie Roos (4-10, 4.11 ERA) and Brooke Boening (3-4, 4.32 ERA) are the most likely candidates to get a start for NSU.
Tech (15-19) is coming off a pair of league losses at San Jose State this past weekend. The Lady Techsters continue to rely on the bats of Melanie Goff (.386, 10 RBI), Janna Frandrup (.368, 1 HR, 22 RBI), Erin Kipp (.347, 2 HR, 14 RBI) and Amanda Krueger (.263, 12 RBI, 29 runs).
Michelle Jones (9-9, 2.62 ERA), Erin Kipp (5-4, 5.55 ERA) or Melanie Goff (0-3, 6.34 ERA) have logged the majority of innings for Tech this season.
Tech leads the all-time series against Northwestern State 49-39, including a 7-5 win over the Demons on Feb. 17 at the UL-Lafayette Mardi Grass Classic.
Fans can follow all of the action of Wednesday's game via Gametracker at www.latechsports.com or by getting twitter updates by following @LATechMButler. Fans can also watch a live video/audio stream of all home games by purchasing a monthly subscription to LA Tech All-Access at www.latechsports.com.
