As Louisiana Tech head coach Mark Montgomery enters his third season in Ruston, he does so with more depth and overall talent on the roster than he has had during his first two years in the Lady Techster dugout.

And with that comes more optimism heading into the spring.

The Lady Techsters showed signs of their potential this year with a strong showing during the fall "exhibition" season. LA Tech posted a 7-1 record and outscored their opponents 75-27 in those games.

"I think we saw a couple of things that excite us as a staff," Montgomery said. "First was the defense. We were so much stronger in so many areas. We turned would-be hits into outs, and outs that we turned into double plays. We showed so much improvement and so much more depth. Another thing that excited us is so many players from last year came back in better shape and motivated to do much better this year. We are really starting to see out team culture take shape and that is so exciting."

Louisiana Tech returns 11 players from last year's team that posted a 19-33 overall record, and a 7-16 mark in Conference USA play. Montgomery also welcomes eight newcomers, including seven true freshmen and one junior college transfer.

During the fall season which saw Tech record lopsided wins over both Northwestern State and UL-Monroe, Montgomery got production from his returners - something that is to be expected. However, even more promising is that every one of his newcomers showed flashes of big-time potential.

"I think Katie Smith and Karlee Jensen shined the brightest in the fall, playing the middle infield spots and doing so well," Montgomery said. "But there were really are so many more. I feel as though we really have a great group and contributions will come from so many spots.

"This team really has so many people that are capable of contributing in so many ways. You will probably see many different line-ups throughout the season. As long as everyone remembers to put the team first, and not concentrate on individual stats or playing time, but rather focus on performing whatever role is asked of them, it's really anyone's guess as to how good and how far this team can go."

Jensen (Taylorsville, Utah) played second base for Tech for most of the fall while Smith (Bossier City, La.) played shortstop, and the two made the routine plays as well as the spectacular. They also ranked first and third on the team in batting average as Jensen batted .542 (13 hits) while Smith batted .360 (9 hits).

Another freshman Kassidy Harris (Ida, La.) led Tech in run production as the former North Caddo Magnet star batted .360 with 13 RBI. Harris recorded eight hits but six of them went for extra bases, including a team-high five doubles.

Junior Anna Cross (Cross Roads, Texas) continues to be the team's most multi-versatile player at the plate. The former WAC Freshman of the Year in 2013 batted .423 with 11 hits, 12 runs, 7 RBI and 6 stolen bases.

"Some people have really shined, offensively, but none more than Anna Cross," Montgomery said. "She has moved to the leadoff spot and has been a beast this fall. Both at the plate and on the bases she wreaks havoc with her speed and power. Also the bottom of our order did a good job of getting on base. I think the biggest thing that we will need to continue to work on will be consistency out of the middle of our order. We have such high average and power potential that it is scary, but, at times we did not produce at the level of which we are capable."

The middle of the order will most likely consist of sophomore Pauline Tufi (.318, 9 runs, 3 RBI), Krysta Tutsch (.263, 3 HR, 8 RBI) and Bianca Duran (.261, 3 doubles, 9 RBI).

Perhaps the biggest key to the upcoming season will be in the circle. LA Tech boasts four arms, including two experienced pitchers in Duran (5-1, 0.69 ERA) and Tufi (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and two freshmen in Bailey Allen (1-0, 1.75 ERA) and Carolina Sanchez (1-0, 3.94 ERA).

"Depth is what will help us the most," Montgomery said. "Last year we ended with really just two pitching options. This year we have four. Bianca will be the main starter and as a senior provide real stability. She worked so hard to get to where she is. I feel as though she will lead us to some big wins this year. Pauline will be a closer for us and probably be in the last couple of innings of most every game. She gave up no earned runs this fall and was dominant. In addition, we have two freshmen that are packed with potential. Both Bailey Allen and Carolina Sanchez showed signs of greatness so were excited about their potential growth throughout the season."

Louisiana Tech fans will get plenty of opportunities to see the team this spring as LA Tech's schedule includes 32 home games. To access the entire roster and the 2014 schedule, fans can log onto LATechSports.com.