RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech Softball team continues its road swing this weekend at the War Eagle Classic in Auburn, Ala. where it will face host Auburn and Georgia Tech.
  
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday April 5, 2 p.m. (Auburn) | Saturday April 6, 10 a.m. (Georgia Tech) | Saturday April 6, 1 p.m. (Auburn)
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Watch: Friday vs. Auburn | Saturday vs. Auburn
Listen: Friday vs. Auburn | Saturday vs. Georgia Tech | Saturday vs. Auburn
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats

ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (23-9, 7-5 CUSA)
Louisiana Tech is 23-9 this season and coming off a weekend at Liberty, where the Flames swept the Bulldogs with wins of 2-0, 3-0, and 2-0.
 
Center fielder Alexis Gilio has been the Dogs' best hitter this season. She leads LA Tech with a .394 batting average and 37 hits, 12 RBI, 20 Runs scored, 13 walks, and a team-leading nine stolen bases. Defensively, Gilio has not committed an error in 53 chances.
 
Second baseman Caroline Easom is batting .351 with 34 hits, six doubles, 20 RBI, and seven runs scored this season. Easom has struck out just eight times in 97 at-bats. Her 191 career starts rank 16th in program history.
 
Nicole Hammoude leads LA Tech with 24 RBI this season and has hit three home runs. Hammoude became the first Bulldog to record 4+ RBI in back-to-back games against WKU and Grambling State (3/24, 3/26) since Anna Cross did so on Feb. 22, 2014, in games against Alcorn State and Southern.
 
Sophomore Alannah Rogers has broken onto the scene this season. The Surprise, Ariz., product is batting .309 with 23 hits, one home run, 17 runs scored, 14 RBI, and 10 walks. She also has a .411 on-base percentage.
 
Katelin Cooper leads LA Tech with 22 walks this season. She became the first Bulldog to post 20+ walks in three consecutive seasons since Morgan Turkoly accomplished the feat from 2017-19.
 
As a team, LA Tech has already recorded 10+ hits in 10 games this season after doing it eight times a year ago.
 
Opponents are hitting .231 against the Bulldogs' pitching staff in 2024. LA Tech has a team ERA of 2.02 and a 1.12 WHIP in 215 innings pitched this season. In the last two seasons, the Bulldog pitchers have held opponents to two runs or less in 48 of their 87 games.
 
Allie Floyd leads LA Tech in innings pitched (93.1) and strikeouts (59) this season while owning a 1.58 ERA. She has an 11-2 record and four saves this season. Floyd leads CUSA and ranks 38th nationally in victories. Floyd has held opponents to a .209 batting average in 2024.
 
Brook Melnychuk is 7-6 this season with a 2.17 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting .215 against her.

Melnychuk and Floyd's career ERAs of 2.10 and 2.15 rank first and second among all Tech pitchers since 2000 (100 IP).
 
Catcher Brooke Diaz has effectively limited opponents on the base paths. Her 10 runners caught stealing this season rank 15th nationally.
 
LA Tech is led by head coach Josh Taylor, who is 94-53 in three seasons at Tech and 327-221 in his career. He previously served as head coach at Nevada (2017-2021) and Feather River College (2009-2012).
  
ABOUT AUBURN (17-11-1 3-9 SEC)
Auburn is 17-11-1 this season and coming off a 8-0 run-rule win over Samford on Wednesday night.
 
The Tigers are batting .259 as a team with 181 hits, 29 home runs, 117 RBI, and 126 runs scored.
 
Offensively, they are led by Anna Wohlers who is batting .329 with a team-leading 24 hits in addition to three doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. KK McCrary leads Auburn with six home runs and 16 walks this season. She is batting .288.
 
In the circle, Auburn has a 2.80 team earned run average. Maddie Penta is the ace of the Tigers' pitching staff with a 1.82 ERA, .91 WHIP, and 138 strikeouts in 111.2 innings pitched. She is 9-6 this season.
 
Mickey Dean is in his seventh season as head coach of Auburn with a record of 223-120. Prior to Auburn, Dean served as head coach at James Madison (2013-17) and Radford (2007-11). He has a career head coaching record of 701-292.
 
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (24-14 9-6 ACC)
Georgia Tech is 24-14 this season and coming off a 14-9 win over Troy on Wednesday night.
 
The Yellow Jackets are one of the best-hitting teams in the country, with seven starters batting above the .300 mark. As a team, Georgia Tech is batting .319 with 323 hits, 64 home runs, 242 RBI, and 256 runs scored. Georgia Tech ranks seventh nationally in home runs per game, averaging 1.65 a contest.
 
Mallorie Black possesses the most dangerous bat in the lineup. The senior infielder is batting .358 with 43 hits, 11 doubles, 12 home runs, 43 RBI, 20 walks, and 36 runs scored. Black ranks 16th nationally in RBI and 27th in home runs.
 
The Yellow Jackets have a 4.22 ERA as a team. Kinsey Norton has a team-best 3.00 ERA with 27 strikeouts and a 6-2 record in 53.2 innings pitched. Sophia Voyles is another solid pitcher in the rotation with a 6-2 record and 3.41 ERA in 49.1 innings pitched.
 
Aileen Morales is in her seventh season at Georgia Tech with a record of 179-149. Morales has a career head coaching record of 292-254 in 11 seasons with previous stops at Radford (2016-17) and Young Harris (2014-15).
 
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend, LA Tech and Auburn will face off for the ninth and tenth times. The Tigers currently hold a 5-3 lead in the all-time series. However, LA Tech took the last encounter, 2-1 on Feb. 9, 2019, in Gulf Shores, Ala.
 
Louisiana Tech and Georgia Tech will be meeting for the first time since 1997 this weekend. The Bulldogs have a 2-1 all-time series lead with the Yellow Jackets. LA Tech has won the past two matchups against Georgia Tech with the most recent being a 8-6 win in Ruston on April 27, 1997 at the Lady Techster Softball Complex.
 
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