March 20, 2015 HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Mark Montgomery and the Louisiana Tech softball team will travel this weekend for a three-game Conference USA series against Southern Mississippi at USM Softball Complex.
Due to weather forecast, Saturday's doubleheader is now slated to start at 11 a.m. while Sunday's single game is slated to begin at 1 p.m. Fans can keep up with any revisions to this weekend's schedule through Twitter (@LATechSB) and Facebook (/LouisianaTechSoftball) as well as on LATechSports.com.
Louisiana Tech enters the weekend with a 16-8 record following its 10-5 loss at Northwestern State on Wednesday night in Natchitoches. The Lady Techsters are 1-2 in Conference USA action after dropping two of three against Florida Atlantic last weekend.
Southern Miss enters the series with a 15-11 mark after a 9-1 loss against South Alabama Wednesday in Mobile, Alabama. The Golden Eagles are 1-5 in C-USA action after being swept at North Texas last weekend.
Offensively, LA Tech ranks as one of the top power hitting teams in Conference USA with 31 home runs - second most in the league behind UTSA. Krysta Tutsch (.351, 8 HR, 25 RBI), Pauline Tufi (.286, 7 HR, 21 RBI) and Bianca Duran (.370, 6 HR, 26 RBI) are Tech's top power threats driving in Tori Charters (.407, 16 runs), Kristen Miles (.476, 16 runs), Anna Cross (.347, 13 runs, 2 HR, 16 RBI), Karlee Jensen (.345, 11 runs, 10 RBI), Katie Smith (.276, 8 doubles, 12 runs) and Janine Godwin (.203, 11 runs, 9 RBI).
Duran (9-6, 3.14 ERA), Tufi (3-0, 2.24), Bailey Allen (2-1, 2.86) and Carolina Sanchez (2-1, 3.40) comprise Tech's arsenal of arms in the circle. The foursome has combined to walk a league low 51 batters this year in 159.0 innings of action.
Southern Miss is 8-2 at home this season with both losses coming to C-USA foe UTSA. Although the Golden Eagles have hit only 10 home runs on the season, they have a collective plate discipline, drawing 101 walks while striking out only 81 times.
Morgan McKeever is one of the top hitters in the league, sporting a .430 batting average with 34 hits in 79 at bats. Sarah Evans (.380, 7 doubles, 15 RBI), Katie Cleary (.329, 28 RBI) and Bailey Stokes (.325, 24 walks, 3 HR, 12 RBI) have also been significant contributors offensively.
In the circle, USM is led by Samantha Robles (5-1, 2.65 ERA), Danielle Block (4-3, 2.95), Jillian Johnson (2-3, 2.98) and Shelbee Rodgers (4-4, 5.66).
Fans can follow Gametracker at www.southernmiss.com. A free live audio broadcast of the games will also be available at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/latech/.