Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Tennis
Despite the short rest and playing without its top player, Louisiana Tech continued its winning ways by defeating West Alabama, 4-1, on Sunday at the Vaughan Tennis Complex.
It was Tech’s second win of the weekend after defeating UAB 4-2 on Saturday.
LA Tech (16-4) got its four points by claiming the doubles point along with singles wins on courts two, four, and five. In doing so, the Lady Techsters extended their winning streak to eight.
“Was really happy about our doubles play today,” said head coach Amanda Stone. “West Alabama is a proven team in doubles with some impressive wins. One doubles turned it on and committed to playing how we have been practicing, which fueled their comeback. In singles, we came to play and got the job done like we should have. Ana and Najah both led the way. I love that different players continue to step up when needed.”
Perhaps even more impressive, they won their sixth straight road match, a streak kept alive this weekend with the road sweep over UAB and UWA (16-5) who was previously undefeated on its home courts.
Known for their doubles, the Tigers came having dropped the doubles point just four times in their 20 spring matches. The Lady Techsters made it five. Olga Bienzobas and Alexia Romero teamed up to win, 7-5, on court two.
With UWA getting the doubles win on court three, the opening point came down to court one where Ana Rodrigues and Najah Dawson found themselves behind, 2-5, to Haina Franco and Irawan Deewajee. The duo won three straight games to tie it up at 5-all, and ultimately won it in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (3).
Dawson gave LA Tech its second point of the match as the senior was too much for Yurie Takanishi at the No. 2 position, winning 6-1, 6-2. Ilana Tetruashvili was impressive as well, overpowering Emiri Takanishi by a score of 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot to make it 3-0 in favor of the Lady Techsters.
It was just a few seconds after the Tigers got their lone point by Franco at the top position when Rodrigues clinched the match for LA Tech, downing Hardija Vidnere 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4.
Tiffani Nash was up a set on court two and Romero had just split sets on court six when the matches were called.
Baseball
Dallas Baptist junior designated hitter Ethan Mann hit three home runs, and a pair of Patriot pitchers limited Louisiana Tech to one run on five hits as DBU defeated the Bulldogs, 9-1, on a sunny Sunday afternoon before 2,043 at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
The Patriots, 19-9 overall and 6-3 in Conference USA, took the league series, two games to one; Tech (14-14, 4-5) won Friday’s opener, 5-2, and lost Saturday, 14-7.
Mann hit a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the first off Bulldog starter Greg Martinez (0-1) to stake Dallas Baptist to a 3-0 lead. Mann made it 4-0 when he led off the fourth with his second home run of the afternoon, and added a two-run homer in the ninth.
Martinez gave up the first two homers to Mann, who finished the game with six RBIs, but otherwise, the senior righty gave up just two hits, struck out three and walked one in four innings.
“I’m proud of Greg Martinez; I thought it was his best outing by far,” Tech coach Lane Burroughs said. “I thought Landon (Tomkins, four hits and one run in four innings) and Ethan (Bates, one run in one inning and two strikeouts) were good. We just couldn’t keep (Mann) in the ballpark.”
The Bulldogs scored in the bottom of the fourth inning when designated hitter Walker Burchfield singled in Jorge Corona, who’d singled to lead off the inning, his second hit of the game. Corona was the only Dog with multiple hits on the afternoon.
Trailing 5-1, Tech threatened in the seventh with runners at first and second and nobody out, but Patriot sophomore lefthander Bryson Hammer, who got the win (4-3) with five innings of one-hit relief, got out of it on a foul territory popup, a caught stealing when a Bulldog tried to advance on a ball in the turf, and a strikeout.
“At 5-1, you’re feeling pretty good about it,” Burroughs said. “We were swinging the bat good; it just didn’t happen today.
“We hit some balls really hard; (the Patriots) made some good defensive plays out there,” Burroughs said. “I don’t think it’s a lack of competing on our part; they’re a really good team and they’re playing really well right now.”
The two teams are scheduled to meet again for three conference games at Horner Ballpark in Dallas, Friday-Sunday, April 21-23.
“I’m not sure we’ll face a better pitching staff the rest of the year,” Burroughs said. “Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the other team; the last two days, they were better than we were.”
The Bulldogs play at Northwestern State in Natchitoches Tuesday at 6 p.m., then go to Houston for three games at Rice scheduled for Thursday and Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. The Dogs will be idle on Easter.
Softball
Louisiana Tech defeated NC State 2-0 in the first of four games at the Purple and Gold Classic in Baton Rouge, but the Lady Techsters then dropped three straight to end the weekend.
Tech fell 5-3 to BYU Friday and then dropped games to NC State (5-0) and No. 11 LSU (6-2) on Saturday to close out the weekend.
Freshman Mary Martinez picked up the win over the Wolfpack — Tech’s first against a P5 since defeating Penn State in 2019 — as she tossed 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out a career-high six batters.
Martinez threw the first seven-inning complete-game shutout since Audrey Pickett accomplished the feat in a 1-0 win over Southern Miss on May 6, 2022.
KB Briley led Tech with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. Amanda Gonzalez singled home pinch runner Alyssa Dean in the top of the sixth inning and then Dean singled home Sierra Sacco in the top of the seventh for the lone runs.
Tech struggled offensively the rest of the weekend in the three losses. Kylie Neel had two hits, including a home run, and two RBI in the 6-2 loss to LSU Saturday.
Tech travels to Monroe to face ULM Tuesday at 6 p.m.
