RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech opens its fall season Friday night when the Lady Techsters travel to ULM to face the Warhawks at 6 p.m. at Geo Surfaces Field.

The Lady Techsters begin the Josh Taylor era in Ruston and the veteran head coach said he isn't worried about wins and losses this fall, instead he is focused on the processes that will prepare his team for success in the spring.

"I hope to see quality softball," said Taylor. "I hope to see our girls compete. I hope to see our girls play with confidence. Those are things we have been working on since day one. We haven't been able to put in a lot of the defensive sets yet so I am not concerned about that. We are going to put in first and thirds and short game defense today, the day before we play the game.

"But with only two days of full team practice under our belts, those are the things I want to see. I want to see them compete. I want to see them be on time as much as possible. I want to see us make routine plays. And I want to see our pitchers throw strikes."

Tech's roster includes 16 returning letter-winners from last year's team that finished 22-30 and earned a berth in the Conference USA Tournament. The Lady Techsters also welcome five newcomers, including four high school prep stars and one junior college transfer.

Taylor and his coaching staff have been working hard this fall to develop a chemistry with the players and bring energy and excitement to Dr. Billy Bundrick Field on a daily basis. The effort is working.

"While some teams might be nervous going into fall season, the energy surrounding the team has been pure excitement," said sophomore pitcher Lauren Menzina. "The coaches have already helped us improve in such a short amount of time, so that has the team feeling confident going into the fall season, too. We already have a close bond as a team, and finally getting a chance to compete together will only strengthen that bond."
 
"We are really excited to see what this new program has in store for us," said junior infielder Lindsay Edwards. "It's a fresh start for everyone with the new staff, and we are looking forward to the places Coach Taylor will take us."

"We are all very excited for fall ball to finally be starting up again especially with this new staff," said senior outfielder Madie Green. "We love going to practice and enjoy learning from them. Some of the team focuses for this fall are to make and learn from our mistakes, have fun with the game and build confidence again.

"The coaches have done such a great job with us so far and they are super excited for the year which to me is getting us pretty hyped and feeling good. As a whole, we are feeling ready and excited to get this going not only in the fall but for the spring as well. This is a pretty special group and I'm very excited and blessed to be playing with them for my last year."

 Tech will play eight fall games, including four games next weekend in Fayetteville. The final three contests will be played at home. For the full fall schedule, fans can log onto LATechSports.com.