YOUNGSVILLE – The Louisiana Tech softball team defeated Florida A&M (5-1) and fell to St. Thomas (0-3) on day two of the Mardi Gras Mambo on Saturday evening at the Youngsville Sports Complex.

Sierra Sacco highlighted the Lady Techsters' (6-2) efforts at the plate, tallying four hits on the day, including three in the win over Florida A&M.

Head Coach Josh Taylor went with a different look in the Florida A&M game by starting four freshmen. The young lineup responded by plating five runs on seven hits and three walks on their way to the victory.

Mary Martinez improved to 2-0 by garnering the win in the Florida A&M game. The Freshman spun four innings of shutout ball, striking out one and allowing just one hit and a walk. Lauren Menzina got the save in relief by pitching three innings, striking out two and allowing a run on three hits and a walk.

Allie Floyd went the distance in game one, striking out three St. Thomas batters and allowing three runs on three hits and a walk. Offensive woes were the issue for the Lady Techsters in the loss to St. Thomas, as they mustered three hits and stranded eight base runners.
 
Notables

• Jina Baffuto, Paris Endris, Kaylee Grealy and Mary Martinez all made the first starts of their collegiate career in the win over Florida A&M.
• Endris and Grealy both recorded their first collegiate hits.
• Sierra Sacco had her first three-hit performance or the season.
• Mary Martinez was victorious in her first career start, spinning four shutout innings. 
• Freshman Allie Floyd pitched six innings and recorded three strikeouts, both were career highs.
• Lauren Menzina picked up her first career save in the win over Florida A&M.

 
Game One
Hits were tough to come by for both teams in game one against St. Thomas.

Allie Floyd went the distance, allowing three runs on three hits with three strikeouts.

Katelin Cooper, Brooke Diaz and Sierra Sacco recorded a hit while KB Briley and Aleya Hill walked. 

The Tommies got on the board in the bottom of the second when shortstop Brooke Elstad sent a 2-2 pitch over the right field wall for a solo home run to make it 1-0. 

An RBI fielder's choice and an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth made it 3-0 in favor of St. Thomas. 

Tech threatened to tie things up in its final at bat in the seventh. Grealy reached on an error by the pitcher, followed by a KB Briley walk. The Tommies then got an out courtesy of a fielder's choice. Aleya Hill followed by drawing a walk to load the bases, but Tech could not capitalize as St. Thomas escaped the jam with a fly out and a ground out to win the ballgame.

Game Two
Mary Martinez took the ball in her first career start and responded with four shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out one.

After a scoreless first two innings, Sacco led off the third with a bunt single, then came around to score on a wild pitch to give Tech an early 1-0 lead. Kylie Neel then extended the lead to 3-0 with a two-RBI single that brought home Paris Endris and Aleya Hill, who reached on a walk and a hit-by pitch, sequentially. 

Paris Endris singled up the middle for her first career hit in the fifth. Neel then stepped to the plate and shot a double into the left-center field gap to score Endris. KB Briley followed with a ground out to record her first RBI of the season to make it 5-0 in favor of the Techsters.

Lauren Menzina closed out the final three innings to record the save, allowing a run on three hits while fanning two batters. 

The Rattlers got their lone run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Amaya Gainer however, that would be all they would get as KB Briley took a relay throw from Sierra Sacco and threw out the second runner trying to score on the play to end the inning. 

Menzina then slammed the door in the seventh to improve Tech to 6-2 overall. 

NEXT UP
The Lady Techsters close out the Mardi Gras Mambo tomorrow by matching up with Gardner-Webb at 11 a.m.
 
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