RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech Softball team opens its Conference USA slate with a three-game series against preseason conference favorite North Texas this weekend at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
SERIES INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday, March 10 (6 p.m.) | Saturday, March 11 (2 p.m.) | Sunday, March 12 (1 p.m.)
Location: Dr. Billy Bundrick Field (Ruston, La.)
TV/Stream: CUSA.tv
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (14-6)
Louisiana Tech is 14-6 on the season and coming off a 3-1 extra-innings loss to ULM on March 7.
Allie Floyd pitched all nine innings in the contest, while
Brooke Diaz hit a solo home run, accounting for the Techsters' one run in the game.
The Lady Techsters' 14-6 start is the best since 2019 when they had a 15-5 mark through their first 20 games played.
Tech has won its last 11 regular season Conference USA games, with its last loss coming at North Texas on April 14, 2022, in game one of a three-game series that the Techsters took 2-1.
Pitching has played a vital role this season for the Lady Techsters, as they hold a team ERA of 1.98.
Mary Martinez leads the Techsters in the circle with a 4-1 record and 1.29 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched.
Allie Floyd leads Tech in innings thrown with 44.0 while owning a 1.91 ERA and a team-best .95 WHIP (walk hits per inning).
The Lady Techsters' 0.65 double plays per game is the third-best mark among all NCAA Division I programs.
Right fielder
Kylie Neel leads LA Tech with a .350 batting average, including 21 hits, while recording five doubles, 20 RBI, 14 runs scored, and seven walks. Her 20 RBI ranks third among all Conference USA players.
Left fielder Katelin Cooper leads the Lady Techsters with three round-trippers this season. She has already surpassed her home run total from 2023. Cooper has also posted an impressive .667 on-base percentage when leading off innings at the plate.
The series with North Texas will mark the second three-game series of the season for LA Tech. The Lady Techsters swept their first three-game series against SEMO on Feb. 11-12 to open the season.
LA Tech is led by head coach
Josh Taylor who is 53-26 in his second season at Tech and 176-135 in his career, with prior stops at Nevada (2017-2021) and Feather River College (2009-2012).
The Lady Techsters are on a 10-game homestand, their longest since 2012.
ABOUT NORTH TEXAS (12-8)
The Mean Green were ranked No. 24 in the preseason Top-25 poll and are 12-8 this season after playing a solid non-conference slate that featured ranked opponents in Kentucky (No. 18), Texas (No. 14) and Arkansas (No. 8).
Junior Kailey Gamble is one of the top sluggers in the nation, ranking second nationally with 10 home runs and leading the Mean Green with a .377 batting average.
Ashley Peters is the ace of the North Texas staff with a 4-4 record, 1.25 ERA and a .84 WHIP in 39.1 innings pitched.
North Texas is led by Rodney Delong, who is 141-60 in his five seasons at the helm.
SERIES HISTORY
Louisiana Tech and North Texas have met 34 times, with the series deadlocked at 17 games apiece. The teams went 2-2 in its meetings last year. LA Tech took the regular season series two games to one. North Texas won the previous matchup 11-1 in five innings on May 13, 2022, during the C-USA tournament in Denton, Texas
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