Six Louisiana Tech teams were in action over the weekend. There were Bulldogs and Lady Techsters competing all over, from Jonesboro, Arkansas to Birmingham, Alabama to El Paso, Texas to Baton Rouge to Ruston and the opening of the new Love Shack.
BASEBALL: Despite not having any fans in the stands, there were plenty watching beyond the left field wall as LA Tech christened the new, almost completed J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park with a three-game sweep over Southern.
The Bulldogs outscored the Jaguars, 26-7. Parker Bates tallied the first home run in the new ballpark and totaled seven RBI over the weekend. Meanwhile, 12 Bulldog pitchers combined for 27 strikeouts.
SOFTBALL: The Lady Techsters headed south to Baton Rouge for three games, falling in a doubleheader to North Alabama before capping the weekend with a 7-2 victory over host Southern.
The bats were quiet against the Lions, generating a combined six hits and just two runs in the 2-0 and 3-2 losses on Saturday. The offense found a spark on Sunday, though, to the tune of a six-run fourth inning that helped produce the victory over the Lady Jaguars. Kara Goff had two hits and three RBI in the win.
GOLF: Also playing in Baton Rouge was the LA Tech Golf team in the LSU Invitational at the University Club. The Bulldogs finished 14th in the highly competitive event, combining for a +67. Mac Murphy led the squad individually with a tie for 13th at +4.
SOCCER: Louisiana Tech usually kicks off its C-USA season in the month of September. This time, they did so on the last day of February as the Lady Techsters lost a heartbreaker in El Paso, falling 2-1 in overtime to the Miners at University Field.
LA Tech got a late equalizer with Sophie Fijneman’s corner kick finding Klesha Darroux who drilled a header into the back of the net. However, UTEP scored the golden goal in the 96th minute during the first OT period.
TENNIS: Louisiana Tech was down one of its top players, a setback the Techsters could not overcome in a 4-2 loss at Arkansas State. Anastasiia Salenko, who plays at the No. 2 spot, was out due to sickness, which forced everyone else to move up a line.
Leonie Schuknecht and Alexia Romero delivered points in singles on courts one and three, but the Red Wolves coupled their doubles point with singles victories on courts two, four and five.
VOLLEYBALL: Louisiana Tech continued C-USA action this weekend in Birmingham, falling 3-0 twice to the UAB Blazers. Laura Ehieze led the way for the Lady Techsters with 11 combined kills.
Photo: Tom Morris