MONROE, La. – Following Friday's 8-0 loss to SIU-Edwardsville, Louisiana Tech head coach Josh Taylor told his team that their performance was unacceptable regardless of the fact it was the first day of the season.
           
Taylor's team took his words to heart.
           
Brooke Diaz hit a first inning grand slam, every player in the Tech lineup collected at least one hit and Audrey Pickett was in complete control in the circle for the second straight day as the Lady Techsters defeated Stephen F. Austin 11-4 in cold, windy, wet conditions Saturday at the Ouachita Sports Complex.

"Our offense had quality at bats all day," said Taylor. "We were able to work deep into counts and get good pitches to drive. We had timely hitting throughout, and we proved that we can be an offense that is formidable moving forward. A lot of confidence was taken from today's game, and we will look to continue that trend moving forward."
           
Facing the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year in SFA ace Kassidy Wilbur, Tech showed a great eye at the plate drawing a total of eight walks in the game, including six against Wilbur in her 2.2 innings of action.
           
Sierra Sacco (walk), Caroline Easom (reached on E4) and Katelin Cooper all reached base to start the game, setting the stage for Diaz who drilled a change up deep over the centerfield fence for a 4-0 Tech lead in the first inning.
           
Tech added three runs in the top of the third. Kara Goff singled through the left side to drive in a run and then Aleya Hill and Amanda Gonzalez drew back-to-back bases loaded walks to push the Lady Techsters advantage to 7-0.
           
Pickett (2-0) cruised with her only issues coming in the bottom of the third and seventh innings after multiple infield errors kept innings alive. SFA scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 7-2.
           
Tech answered with two in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run single by Gonzalez to left field, scoring Hill and Jordyn Manning.
           
The Lady Techsters put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Easom and an RBI single by Edwards.
           
Pickett picked up the win, allowing four runs – zero earned – on six hits, three walks while striking out four in the win.

"Audrey continued to command the strike zone today and is providing this team with the leadership we need," said Taylor. "She was able to keep their hitters off balance all day. I couldn't be happier with her performance the last few days."

Tech will finish out the Best of the Bayou Classic on Sunday with an 11:15 a.m. game against Southern and a 1:30 p.m. game against Mississippi Valley State.