RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech Softball team closes out its regular-season slate with a trip to Bowling Green, Ky., for a three-game series with Western Kentucky, Friday-Sunday at the WKU Softball Field.
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates/Time: Friday, May 5 (6 p.m.) | Saturday, May 6 (1 p.m.) | Sunday, May 7 (1 p.m.)
Location: WKU Softball Field
Stats: Live Stats
Watch: Hilltopper Sports Satelite Network
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (31-21, 12-9)
Louisiana Tech is 31-21 on the season and coming off an 8-1 loss on Wednesday to UL-Lafayette who was receiving votes in the latest Top-25 poll. Tech entered the seventh inning trailing 2-1 in the contest.
Sierra Sacco went 1-1 with two walks and a stolen base during the game, increasing her reached-base streak to 15 games
Katelin Cooper leads the Lady Techsters with eight home runs this season while tallying 37 RBI, which ranks sixth among all Conference USA players.
Louisiana Tech has a team ERA of 2.29 in 360 innings pitched this season. The 2.29 ERA is the best team ERA by a Tech pitching staff since 1999 when they finished the year with a 1.23 mark.
Mary Martinez holds a team-best 10-3 record and a 1.94 ERA in 65 innings.
Allie Floyd leads the Lady Techsters with 118 innings pitched while posting an 8-8 mark and an ERA of 2.37.
Kylie Neel is the Lady Techsters' biggest threat at the plate with a .351 batting average, 52 hits, 45 RBI, five home runs, 11 doubles, and 80 total bases. Neel's 45 RBI are tied for the Conference USA lead. The Richmond, Texas product is on a career-high 23-game reached-base streak.
Sierra Sacco also headlines the Tech lineup with 52 hits, 39 runs scored, 36 walks, and a .338 batting average. Sacco has 35 stolen bases this season, leading Conference USA and ranking 11th nationally. The Sophomore is the all-time program leader in career batting average with a mark of .395. Sacco has made 111 consecutive starts in centerfield.
The Lady Techsters have done a great job working out of jams this season in the circle, as opposing hitters are batting just .162 (6-37) with the bases loaded.
LA Tech is among the nation's leaders in double plays per game, ranking eighth with 0.53 a contest.
Scoring first has been a significant factor in the Techsters' success this year, as they have posted a 27-3 record when doing so. The Lady Techsters are also 22-1 this season when outhitting their opponents.
LA Tech is led by head coach
Josh Taylor who is 70-41 in his second season at Tech and 190-150 in his career, with prior stops at Nevada (2017-2021) and Feather River College (2009-2012).
ABOUT WKU (27-21, 12-8)
Western Kentucky is 27-21 this season with a 12-8 mark in C-USA play and a 15-10 record at home. The Hilltoppers are coming off a 2-1 series win at FIU, where they dropped the series opener (7-3) before taking the final two games of the series (4-1, 7-4).
Western Kentucky enters the series batting .291 as a team, led by Faith Hegh, who is batting .395 with 58 hits, five home runs and 34 RBI. She ranks among the C-USA league leaders in numerous categories, including: Batting average (.395, 2nd), On-base percentage (.480, T-2nd), Hits (58, 3rd) and Doubles (19, 1st). Taylor Sanders leads the Hilltoppers with nine home runs and 39 RBI.
Katie Gardner is the Hilltoppers ace with a 3.82 ERA and a 13-15 record in 188.2 innings pitched.
Amy Tudor is in her 10th season as the head coach of Western Kentucky and has posted a record of 299-192-1. She has a career record of 516-398-2 with prior stops at Belmont, Purdue-Fort Wayne and Ohio Wesleyan.
SERIES HISTORY
LA Tech leads the all-time series 9-5 over Western Kentucky. The Lady Techsters and Hilltoppers have never met in Bowling Green.
The Hilltoppers took the last meeting 5-1 during the 2023 Conference USA Tournament in Denton, Texas, on May 13, 2022.
Sierra Sacco recorded two hits in the contest.
2023 C-USA CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Tickets are now on sale for the 2023 Conference USA Softball Tournament, which takes place May 10-13 at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field. Fans wishing to purchase tickets to the tournament can do so by calling the Louisiana Ticket Office at 318-257-3631 or by going to LATechSports.com/tickets. Single-day and tournament passes are available.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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