Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Tech Softball
Laney Johnson tossed the program’s first no-hitter in six years as Louisiana Tech softball blanked Stephen F. Austin 9-0 in five innings on Tuesday night at SFA Softball Field. The win moves LA Tech to 29-18 (14-7 CUSA).
Johnson (5-3) pitched a 5.0 inning complete game no-hitter to earn the win in the circle. She allowed no hits and no walks while striking out two. Her no-hitter marks the programs first no-hit bid since Preslie Gallaway no-hit Penn State on Feb. 24, 2019. Johnson carried a perfect game into the final frame and recorded two outs before a fielding error allowed the Lumberjacks to get a runner on base.
Reagan Marchant led the Bulldogs at the plate as she collected two hits, three RBI, and two runs. Marchant hit her 14th home run of the season.
Claire Raley finished with one hit and three RBI, followed by Gilio who scored three runs, collected one hits and one RBI. Addison Snyder finished with one hit and one RBI, while Elena Heng, Allie Furr, Kaylee Grealy, and Nicole Hammoude collected one hit apiece.
LA Tech took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as they used two hits and one error to take an early lead. Furr collected the game’s first hit as she singled through the left side. Gilio reached on a fielding error while Furr moved to second. Marchant drove in LA Tech’s first run of the night as she singled home Furr to make it 1-0. The Bulldogs scratched another run across as Marchant stole second and Gilio advanced home on the throw to make it 2-0.
The Bulldogs plated three runs on two hits to make it 5-0 in the top of the third. Gilio reached base on a fielding error and made it all the way to third, while Marchant reached base on a walk. A triple from Raley to right center scored Marchant and Gilio to make it 4-0 ‘Dogs.
Addison Snyder singled to center and drove in Raley to make it 5-0 after three.
LA Tech took a 9-0 lead in the top of the fourth as they used four hits and one error in the inning. Heng reached on a bunt to start the frame and advanced 60 feet to second on a stolen base. A groundout moved Heng over to third, while a Gilio double to left center would bring her home.
With Gilio standing on second, Marchant hit her 14th home run of the season to dead center to give LA Tech an 8-0 lead. Hammoude followed Marchant with a double to center and came around to score on a fielding error to make it 9-0.
The Bulldogs will be back in action this weekend as they host Liberty in a three-game Conference USA series. First pitch of the series is set for Friday night at 6:00 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Tech Baseball
The Diamond ‘Dogs (25-15, 10-4 CUSA) are set to host the ULM Warhawks (20-21, 6-12 Sun Belt) tonight for the finale of their season series at the Love Shack. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
The contest can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on 97.7 FM.
The Bulldogs fell to the Warhawks in Monroe on April 15, 8-3, to even the season series after Tech defeated ULM, 6-2, at the Love Shack on March 18.
LA Tech is coming off securing its sixth-straight series win and fifth-straight series against a CUSA opponent after taking two of three games from Liberty at home last weekend. The Bulldogs opened the series with a thrilling walk-off comeback victory on Thursday before clinching the rubber game with a closely played 4-3 win.
Trey Hawsey leads the team with a 1.014 OPS which is good for seventh-best in CUSA. He also holds a staggering OPS of 1.301 in league contests and is on a nine-game hitting streak, which is the longest current streak on the team. He is batting .390 in CUSA games, leading the Bulldogs and sits among the top 10 in the conference.
Luke Nichols etched his third outing at least three scoreless innings in the series finale against Liberty, going three full frames allowing just one hit, one walk, striking out four batters and earning his fourth win of the season. Blake Hooks earned his league-leading seventh save on Saturday which sits in the top 20 nationally among Division I pitchers.
ULM is coming off a series loss on the road to Troy following their midweek win over the Bulldogs. The Warhawks lost the series opener, 3-9, before getting run-ruled the following game, 11-1 in seven innings. ULM salvaged the series finale with a 7-3 victory over the Trojans.
Isaiah Walker leads the team with a .331 batting average, 19 base swipes on 22 attempts, 31 runs, 51 hits, four triples and a .922 OPS. The senior has a base hit in nine of his last 11 games with six multi-hit performances in that span.
