Softball
North Texas 8, LA Tech 2
LA Tech 9, North Texas 3
LA Tech 6, North Texas 5
Louisiana Tech made a statement to the rest of Conference USA this weekend, taking two out of three on the road against the defending league champion and league leader North Texas at Lovelace Stadium.
After dropping Thursday night’s opener 8-2, Head Coach Josh Taylor and Co. responded with a 9-3 win on Friday and a 6-5 victory on Saturday. It’s the first time North Texas has lost a home C-USA series since 2018 and the first time the Mean Green has lost any C-USA series since 2019.
“This was a big series as coming into the weekend North Texas sat at the top of the C-USA standings,” said head coach Josh Taylor. “They have been very tough at home for a while now, and it was fantastic how our girls competed.
“Our offense was able to string together quality at bats and score runs early in our wins. This allowed our pitchers to settle into their outings and throw quality pitches. I am proud of this team’s passion. I am proud of this team’s heart and proud of this teams fight.”
Former Cedar Creek standouts Katelin Cooper and Lauren Menzina were instrumental in the series win. Menzina picked up the win in the circle Friday, throwing 5.0 innings while allowing just three runs – two earned – on six hits.
Cooper spearheaded Tech’s early 6-0 lead in Saturday’s win, belting her first collegiate home run – a two-run shot – in the second inning.
Tech (29-16, 9-6 C-USA) has now won 29 games this season, already seven more than all of last year, with 11 regular season games remaining on the slate. Tech currently sits in third place in the West Division standings, only one-half game behind UAB and one game behind North Texas in the loss column.
The Lady Techsters will travel to Ole Miss Tuesday for a 6 p.m. game on ESPN+ before returning home to host a huge C-USA series against UAB Friday through Sunday at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
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Baseball
Marshall 10, LA Tech 9 (Friday)
LA Tech 7, Marshall 4 (Saturday – Game 1)
LA Tech 11, Marshall 5 (Saturday – Game 2)
The Bulldogs picked up a hard-fought series win on the road in Huntington.
After dropping game one in the series 10-9 on Friday, head coach Lane Burroughs and Co. came back to sweep a doubleheader from the Thundering Herd (16-20-1, 5-10 C-USA) on Saturday by scores of 7-4 and 11-5.
Burroughs picked up his 300th coaching victory with the 11-5 victory on Saturday.
Playing at a YMCA field for the three-game series (Marshall doesn’t have a home ballpark), the Bulldogs hit seven home runs including two by Steele Netterville, Jorge Corona and Cole McConnell and one by Walker Burchfield.
On the mound, Tech pitchers combined to record 39 strikeouts over the weekend as the Bulldogs got some big-time relief appearances in the wins on Saturday from freshman Ryan Harland and senior Jarrett Whorff.
Harland worked 4.2 scoreless innings in game one on Saturday, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out eight. It gave Tech a chance to overcame a 4-0 deficit.
“Harland has done it all year,” said Burroughs. “He has been our best lefty out of the bullpen all year. He absolutely attacks the strike zone with conviction. He is not an imposing figure, but he is not scared and he does not get nervous. He is the reason we won the ball game in game one. Marshall’s order is one of the toughest in the league. They made it hard to navigate. We are very proud of Ryan and he gave us a chance to win.”
Whorff then matched Harland in game two, working 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball allowing just one walk while striking out seven. Tech scored six runs in the top of the ninth in the second game to break open a 5-5 tie and win 11-5.
“Jarret has been our Sunday starter for three years,” said Burroughs. “He has been coming out of the bullpen. We won that game because of Whorff. He came in and threw up some zeroes.”
Tech hosts Little Rock Tuesday at 6 p.m. at JC Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
