LA Tech drops two on Friday to be eliminated from C-USA Softball Tournament

DENTON, Texas – Friday the 13^th might have been just what the doctor ordered for the rest of Conference USA.

After all, something out of the ordinary needed to occur to break Louisiana Tech’s 12-game winning streak against league foes.

Whether it was the bad luck of the superstitions that surround Friday the 13^th or whether it was just running into two really good teams on the wrong day, the Lady Techsters saw their Conference USA Tournament run end at Lovelace Stadium.

Tech (39-20), the 2022 regular season champion, fell 11-1 to North Texas in five innings and then lost 5-1 to WKU in seven innings. The Mean Green and Lady Toppers will meet for the tournament title game on Saturday.

“It was just a tough day,” said Tech head coach Josh Taylor. “We reverted back to some old habits. We looked tight. We played two really good teams who both played really well so I don’t want to take anything away from either of them. But we definitely didn’t play like we had been the last month of the season.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this group and what they have accomplished. No one thought we would win 39 games. No one thought we would compete for a league title much less win one. This team will be remembered for getting Louisiana Tech softball back to where they need to be. It’s been a special group and a special year.”

North Texas scored three runs in the first, second and third innings and two more in the fifth and the Lady Techsters were never able to recover. Tech recorded just four hits in the loss, two by Amanda Gonzalez and one each by Sierra Sacco and Caroline Easom.

Tech loaded the bases in the third with one out but couldn’t get a run-producing hit.

Gonzalez broke the shutout with two outs in the bottom of the seventh with her eighth home run of the season against North Texas starter Skylar Savage.

In the nightcap against WKU, the Lady Techsters struggled at the plate again, managing only three hits – two by Sierra Sacco and one by Jordyn Manning.

The highlight of the game was Sacco’s leadoff single in the first, her 82^nd of the season breaking the single season hits record set by former Techster Amberly Waits.