RUSTON – With classes back in session and 2023 in the rearview, the Louisiana Tech Softball team opened up the new year with its first official practice under blue skies and sunshine on Wednesday afternoon at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.

"It was nice to get out here under beautiful blue skies and great weather with everyone healthy," Head Coach Josh Taylor said. "I am excited by what I saw. We had a great first day of practice. The girls looked good. We have a few things to work out before now and February 9. We like where we are at, and we feel that we have a very talented group."


Head Coach Josh Taylor and the LA Tech coaching staff designed a plan that emphasized all aspects of the game during the two-plus hours on the field. During this time frame the Bulldogs worked on situational hitting, situational team defense, bunting, baserunning, individual defense and pitching.

Many Bulldogs feel they already have a leg up on their opponents this season. Thanks to the University being on a quarter system, Louisiana Tech is one of just seven Division I schools to start classes on January 3. The quick return to campus allows the Bulldogs to hit the field over a week before many of their counterparts return to campus.
 
"From a softball standpoint, the quarter system has been a big difference," junior outfielder Alexis Gilio said. "I like that we return to school early so we do not take a lot of time off team practices. It is nice to get a head start before a lot of these other schools come back. We get more time to work as a team and find a rhythm."
 
The Bulldogs enter year three of the Josh Taylor era looking to build off of the last two seasons, which saw Tech post a 71-44 overall record and win a Conference USA Regular Season Title in 2022.


2:15 p.m. | Players arrive to the field and begin practice as trainer Logan Covington runs the team throw a dynamic stretching circuit followed by partner throwing that concludes with long toss.
 
The Bulldogs return Conference USA Freshman of the Year Allie Floyd (Pitcher) and Second-Team All-Conference USA selection Kylie Neel (Right Field) in addition to everyday starters Brooke Diaz (Catcher), Katelin Cooper (Left Field) and Caroline Easom (Second Base) from last year's team that recorded a 32-24 record.

Experience will be a big factor in 2024, with 18 letter winners from a year ago and 10 newcomers (four transfers and six freshmen).
 
Neel, Cooper, and Diaz all returned for an extra year of eligibility in 2024. The NCAA granted Cooper a sixth year after the 2023 season.


2:30 p.m. | Following stretching the team breaks off by position group to work on individual defense. Taylor works with the middle infielders on footwork through a variety of different hops (backhands, forehands, short hops). Assistant Coach Tyler Krobertzky and the catchers focused on framing and blocking while former LA Tech great and current assistant Madie Green led the outfielders in a drill specializes on routes. During this time pitching coach Chelsea Cohen and her staff were in the early stages of their bullpen work.

Neel looks to build off a 2023 season that saw her post a team-high .351 batting average with 53 hits, 11 doubles, five home runs, and a conference-leading 45 RBI. Cooper drove in 42 RBI, the sixth-most by a Tech player in a single season, while scoring 29 runs and leading the Bulldogs in home runs (9) and triples (3). Unfinished business and the addition of talented newcomers made it an easy decision for Neel and Cooper to return.
 
"We had a great team last year, and coming into this year, our coaching staff has built a lot coming into it," Neel said. "The end of last season left a bitter taste in our mouth, and we are looking forward to just finishing our careers strong and taking it further this season. We want to make a regional and go all the way, which is our game plan this year."
 
"It was kind of a roller coaster of emotions waiting to see if my extra year of eligibility would be granted," Cooper said. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to get an extra year, and we have unfinished business on the field. This year, with all the additions we have, it is going to be a game-changer. I thought last year was my last season, so getting this extra year has me excited and ready to go."
 
Cooper also excels in the classroom and is pursuing her doctorate in counseling. While completing Ph.D. work and being a Division I athlete is challenging, Cooper is thankful for the opportunity.
 
"Pursuing my doctorate and playing softball is all about time management, and I am so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to get my undergraduate, master's, and doctorate while playing softball. It is just amazing."


2:45 p.m. | The position players reconvene from individual drills to Mass Fungo which is an infield/outfield drill that Taylor developed in the early stages of his coaching career. The drill is designed so that every position group is actively participating simultaneously. For example, two coaches are hitting ground balls to infielders and the outfielders are tracking fly balls from a jugs machine. Who takes the ground balls will change throughout the course of the drill with the non-fielding infielders working on covering bases and catching throws. In a nutshell it is organized and crisp chaos.
 
Floyd, along with junior Brook Melnychuk, headlined a dominant LA Tech pitching staff that posted 12 shutouts and seven complete games while registering a 2.38 team ERA, the lowest by a Tech staff since 1999.
 
Last season, the LA Tech pitchers emphasized focusing on the task at hand and doing their job no matter how many batters they faced. In 2024, they plan to carry that same mentality into the circle with them.
 
"Working pitch-by-pitch and just doing our jobs has been important to our pitching staff," Brook Melnychuk said. In softball, you are accustomed to seeing one pitcher pitch most games; with us, sometimes we do our job for one inning, which is good because that's three of your 21 outs. Doing your job doesn't mean pitching all seven innings. It could mean getting one critical out or two outs and helping the pitcher before or behind you."
 
Floyd also emphasized the importance of the mentality that pitching coach Chelsea Cohen and the Bulldogs attack opposing batters with.
 
"Mentality-wise, Coach Chelsea (Cohen) teaches us to go out there and be a dog," Floyd said. "If you believe in yourself and the team and have the confidence, you will succeed. It is nice because we have such a good staff that we can work off of each other. We do not have a set Friday, Saturday, or Sunday starter. It is more of who the best fit is for each day and who will attack the best. Coach Chelsea teaches the mentality side and also does a great job of utilizing the staff and how to incorporate everyone and mix each person in."


3:00 p.m. | Mass fungo then transitions into team defense with nine players on the field working on numerous defensive situations and a group of players running the bases to simulate a game. The Bulldogs honed in on their bunt defense in the early stages before focusing on outfield cuts and relays. Both situations were a primary focus in the fall as the LA Tech Coaching Staff has challenged each player to know their responsibility in every possible game situation.
 
The Bulldogs brought in five talented transfers with the signing of Alexis Gilio (BYU), Nicole Hammoude (Cal), Claire Raley (Utah State), and Aubree Seaney (Oregon State) in the offseason.

The program, coaching staff, current players, state-of-the-art facilities, and the city of Ruston were all points of interest for the move to Ruston.
 
"One of the biggest draws to Louisiana Tech was the coaching staff's mentality, how the team is coached, and how practice is structured," Raley said. "The people, my teammates, and facilities here are great, and Ruston is a safe community, which was also a big draw for me."
 
Raley is projected to bat at the top of the LA Tech lineup in 2023. The third-baseman batted .328 with a team-best 44 hits in 134 at-bats at Utah State last season while tormenting opponents on the base paths with 18 stolen bases. Raley will look to combine her hitting and speed in the leadoff spot in 2024.
 
"Batting leadoff this season will be a little new for me, but I have been working a lot at it and talking with our coaches," Raley said. I hope to find multiple ways to get on base and utilize my speed."


3:45 p.m. | Tech finished its practice with a six-station batting practice that takes over an hour. The first station hit on-field batting practice with three rounds per player focusing on driving the ball to all parts of the field in addition to situational hitting. This drill coincided with station two that focused on players running the bases and reading the ball off the bat. Stations three and four shagged batting practice to help with the efficiency of practice while station five in the state-of-the art indoor facility off the pitching machine and station six worked on bunting off a pitching machine. 

One common observation among the Bulldogs is the chemistry this year's squad has developed since arriving on campus in September. Chemistry and being well-rounded in every aspect of the game may just be the recipe for success in 2024.
 
"Our team chemistry is excellent this year, so I can't wait to see how we will do in competition and in the circle as well," Floyd said. We will also be very good defensively and well-rounded offensively.
 
"I am most excited to be playing as a team and see how well we work together," Gilio added. "We all have really good team chemistry and work well together. Many of us have many different strengths, so seeing all of that come together will be really cool."

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