Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Softball
The Lady Techsters (18-9, 3-3 C-USA) traveled to south Florida and took two out of three games from FIU, winning game one 12-3 and game three 10-2 while falling 1-0 in game two.
“I was disappointed in our offense in game one (of Saturday’s DH),” said Josh Taylor. “The same kid that shut us down in game one is the one we scored seven runs on in the seventh of game two. Brook Melnychuk pitched fantastic in game one but we couldn’t give her any run support. In game two we were struggling for a while before we finally exploded (in the seventh) after making adjustments. The takeaway from the weekend is our girls have to learn how to adjust better from at bat to at bat and pitch to pitch. As soon as we can do that the better our offense will be to give our pitchers a lead to work with.”
In Friday night’s 12-3 win, Brooke Diaz hit a grand slam to cap a 5-run second inning and KB Briley added a three-run shot in the top of the seventh as the Lady Techsters cruised to the 12-3 win. Allie Floyd and Lauren Menzina combined to toss seven solid innings in the victory.
In Saturday’s 1-0 loss, Melnychuk tossed 6.0 innings, allowing just five hits and one controversial unearned run. In a scoreless game in the bottom of the third with two outs, an FIU baserunner made contact with Tech shortstop Amanda Gonzalez on a ground ball to short. The umpiring crew decided not to call what is considered textbook obstruction which would have been the final out, thus allowing the run to score on the play.
It proved to be the lone run of the game. Tech managed just five hits and stranded seven baserunners in the loss, something Taylor said he was just as upset about as the lack of the ruling by the umpires on what proved to be the game-deciding run.
Tech bounced back in game three. Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, KB Briley tied the game on a RBI double to left center and then scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Sierra Sacco. Tech added seven runs on seven hits in the top of the seventh — including a three-run home run by Diaz. Mary Martinez (6-1) picked up the win while Emma Hutchinson recorded the save.
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Tennis
The Louisiana Tech tennis team remained undefeated at home this season, riding strong singles play to defeat Incarnate Word, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
LA Tech (12-4) did all of its damage in singles, getting victories on courts two, three, four, five, and six to extend their home winning streak to eight.
“It was a good weekend for us at home,” said head coach Amanda Stone. “There was a lot of good energy today with the track meet going on and that was fun to see our team feed off of that. We are at a point now where teams are gearing up for our matches and playing their best tennis against us. We really stepped up the intensity in singles after losing the doubles point. We showed this weekend that we are becoming really tough throughout our lineup.”
Incarnate Word (8-5) struck first though in doubles, securing wins of 6-2 and 6-3 on courts one and three, respectively. The lone doubles win for the Lady Techsters came from the duo of Olga Bienzobas/Alexia Romero who won 6-2 on court two, playing together for the first time this season.
And just like Friday against Northwestern State, LA Tech got two quick points in singles to grab the momentum.
Tiffani Nash needed only an hour to give the Lady Techsters their first point, taking care of business on court four with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Estefania Gonzalez. Just a few minutes later, Olga Bienzobas gave LA Tech a 2-1 edge after she proved too much for her opponent, Gargi Pawar, in a 6-0, 6-0 win on court three.
Making it 3-1 was Ilana Tetruashvili as the veteran disposed of Sophia Kermet on court six by a score of 6-3, 6-1. The wins kept coming as Najah Dawson provided the clincher with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Amelie Montalvo on court two. The fifth point came from Ana Rodrigues who outlasted Lyric Bonilla on court five 6-3, 7-6 (4).
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Track and Field
The Louisiana Tech men’s and women’s Track & Field team began their outdoor seasons this weekend as hosts of the annual Jim Mize Invitational at the Jim Mize Track & Field Complex in Ruston. LA Tech also used the home meet as an opportunity to recognize 14 senior student-athletes and their accomplishments over their respective careers.
In Friday’s opening-day action, the LA Tech women set three PRs in the 200m, with Faith Tarver taking first place with a PR of 24.89, Chanel Honeywell grabbing a top-five finish with a personal best of 25.59, and Nike Praetzel ran her best 200 with a 26.31. In the men’s 200m, Jamie Sancho grabbed a bronze finish in his first collegiate 200m race with a 21.36.
In the hammer throw, Nemoy Cockett took first place on the men’s side with a throw of 53.02m (173′ 11”), and Elizabeth Sebera (47.53m, 155′ 11”) and Shania Parkinson (46.10m, 151′ 3”) grabbed second and third place, respectively, on the women’s side. Parkinson also threw her personal best on her fourth attempt of the evening. Parkinson also earned a second-place finish in the women’s discus with a personal best of 41.32m (135′ 6”), while Natalie Moten threw her personal best (39.30m, 128′ 11”) to take third in the event.
Jacquelin LaBerteaux (20:54:76) ran the best time in the women’s 5000m, while Hayes Gill did the same on the men’s side with a run of 16:58.64.
In Saturday’s field events, Henry Terral got things started by picking up his fourth career event win in the javelin with a throw of 60.32 (197′ 10”), while Tyler O’con (57.66m, 189′ 2”) grabbed second place in the event. Johnie Jean-Jacques picked up his fifth career gold in the men’s shot put with a throw of 15.77m (51′ 9”), his best throw since April of 2022.
In the women’s javelin, Maria Ferreiro Pena topped her personal best from last year’s Jim Mize on two throws to earn second place with a throw of 45.10m (147′ 11″).
In the women’s long jump, DaLoria Boone missed her personal best by just 0.25” but grabbed first place with a leap of 5.73m (18′ 9.75”) as the LA Tech women took four of the top five spots with Pleasant Harris (5.46m, 17′ 11”), Leah Ellis (5.46m, 17′ 11”), and Tia Reder (5.43m, 17′ 9.75”) grabbing spots three through five.
Mateo Smith made it a men’s and women’s sweep in the long jump, grabbing the top podium spot with a leap of 7.23m (23′ 8.75”), while Javion Canna (6.59m, 21′ 7.50”) and Aidan Holland (6.13m, 20′ 1.50”) earned PRs in the event. Jiana Stewartburgess took second place in the women’s high jump with a leap of 1.65m (5′ 5”), her fourth career jump of at least 1.65m.
On the track, Rebecca Quebedeaux won her first collegiate 1500m race with a 5:17.66, while Kayla Watson won the 100H with a 14.43, and Nike Praetzel registered her personal best in the event running a 14.58 and grabbing third.
In the men’s distance races, Hayes Gill registered a PR in the 3000m with a run of 10:03.36, while Rebecca Quebedeaux took third in the women’s 3000m with a time of 11:47.65. Jacquelin LaBerteaux (20:54.76) and Hayes Gill (16:58.65) grabbed the top in the women’s and men’s 5000m, respectively.
LA Tech picked up three of the top four spots in the Women’s 400m, with Faith Tarver taking gold on a 56.52, Jenaia Williams claiming silver in her first collegiate 400m, and Nariah Parks (58.60) grabbing fourth. On the men’s side, Laeden Tucker claimed his first career outdoor 400m title with a personal best of 48.28.
In the 100m, the women and men claimed silver medals, with Kaylyn Heath picking up second in her first race as a Lady Techster, running an 11.98. Marshall Ellis also grabbed second with a personal best of 10.60, and Mateo Smith ran his personal best of 19.71 for a top-five finish.
Baseball
The rubber match between Louisiana Tech and Charlotte had a cold, late-morning Sunday start that saw cold bats produce no runs in a 9-0 loss for the Bulldogs at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
Tech won Friday night’s opener 2-1 behind a strong pitching effort from Jonathan Fincher, Landon Tompkins and Ethan Bates before dropping Saturday’s second game 14-6.
Then came Sunday’s rubber match.
LA Tech (10-10, 1-2 C-USA) would not get its first hit until the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bulldogs kept things close with the 49ers (8-11, 2-1 C-USA) through those five innings, however, with Alec Sparks (1-1) carrying a 2-0 game into the top of the sixth. It was here that Charlotte slugged out multiple doubles and a home run to make it 7-0. A couple more runs in the eighth and ninth innings for the visitors went unanswered and ultimately resulted in the conference series loss.
Tech would collect just three hits in total, all of them singles from Jorge Corona, Adarius Myers, and Logan McLeod. McLeod managed to reach base in all his appearances, drawing two walks and being hit by a pitch in addition to his single.
Head coach Lane Burroughs says it’s players like McLeod who this program “means something to,” and he’s looking for indicators that leaders on this team who carry the weight of Louisiana Tech Baseball’s recent years.
“This thing took a toll on a lot of people when we were rebuilding it,” Coach Burroughs said. “Right now, it’s not in a good place. I’ve been coaching 27 years.I haven’t felt like this too often in my career. So, we’re going to figure out who this means something to.”
Over the weekend, the Bulldogs hit .180 as a team, a number that Burroughs believes signifies the struggles of the series.
“It’s amazing we won a game,” he said. “We got a win, so I guess that’s a positive. It’s a bad vibe going, and we got to figure it out. We’re going to come to work and keep practicing and keep working, and we’ll figure it out. It’s not going to be cause we’re not out here working, I can assure you.”
Bowling
The Louisiana Tech women’s bowling team claim fourth at the Vanderbilt-hosted Music City Classic on Sunday.
LA Tech began the tournament with five Baker matches on Friday morning. In match one, the Lady Techsters defeated Carthage 993-820. Facing No. 10, Maryland Eastern Shore in match two, Tech collected a big 1,033-938 win. The Lady Techsters went on with an undefeated day with a 1,078-852 win over Lewis, followed by a 1,059-1,033 win over No. 11 Sam Houston. The Techsters finished Baker play by defeating Wright State 1.038-9674.
Day two consisted of five traditional matches. The Lady Techsters began with another win over Sam Houston 1,017-965 followed by a 1.027-835 victory against Kentucky Wesleyan. LA Tech faced off with St. Francis in match three, defeating them 1,144-810 before tying with UAB 1,019. For the first time on the weekend, the Lady Techsters fell to Maryville 1,038-959.
Going into bracket play as the No. 4 seed, the Lady Techsters began with a game against the No. 3 seed, Vanderbilt but fell short 1-4 (204-220, 263-204, 231-185, 204-181, 213-209). Tech then faced off against Arkansas State and was able to defeat the Red Wolves 5-2 (16 3-214, 218-219, 241-194, 168-224, 222-191, 248-230, 214-175). With a chance to claim 3rd, the Lady Techsters battled with Vanderbilt once again but came up short 3-4 (216-233, 208-245, 220-170, 219-213, 221-226, 193-186) to earn the 4th place title.
With 1,111 total pins and a 222.2 average, Patricia Rosales places 5th individually to earn her way onto the All-Tournament team.
