May 6, 2011

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - Louisiana Tech banged out 25 hits and swept an important Western Athletic Conference doubleheader from Utah State by the scores of 7-1 and 13-6 Friday at Laree and LeGrand Johnson Field.

Tech (15-36, 6-14 WAC) now is one game away from clinching a spot in the upcoming WAC Tournament as the Lady Techsters look to sweep the three-game series Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. If Tech wins, the Lady Techsters are in. If Tech loses, they could still earn a spot if Hawaii sweeps a doubleheader from SJSU.

Game 1 (Tech 7, Utah State 1)

Kendra Harmon and Katelynn Hill each recorded three hits while Allie Geisler, Meghan Knowles and Molly Goza each registered two hits as LA Tech banged out a season-high 14 hits in the win.

Senior Meghan Krieg was solid in the circle, allowing only one unearned run in a complete-game performance.

Geisler gave the Lady Techsters an early 2-0 lead as she registered two-out, run scoring singles in the top of the first and the top of the third - scoring Harmon who had reached on hits both times.

Krieg cruised through the first five innings as Tech entered the top of the sixth holding onto the 2-0 advantage. In the sixth, Heather Doiron drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on an infield single by Knowles.

Goza then lined a two-run double to right center, upping the advantage to 4-0. Two outs later, Harmon singled up the middle for her third hit of the game, scoring Goza and giving Tech a 5-0 lead.

Utah State scored its lone run of the game when Krista Bava hit a line drive single to left field to lead off the bottom of the sixth that Hill misplayed as the ball rolled to the fence. Bava came all the way around to score on the single and three base error.

Tech added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning as Doiron singled and Knowles doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. Goza then singled up the middle to drive home Doiron for her third RBI of the game. Hill then singled off the pitcher for her first RBI of the game as Tech led 7-1.

After the first two Aggie batters reached in the bottom of the seventh, Krieg retired three straight, including the final two via strikeout to record the win.

Krieg (9-21) allowed one unearned run on six hits and two walks while striking out 12 batters.

Goza recorded three RBIs while Geisler added two and Harmon and Hill one each.

Shelbi Tytetca (5-11) took the loss, allowing two earned runs on five hits in 3.0 innings of action.

Game Two (LA Tech 13, Utah State 6)

In the second game of the day, Heather Doiron, Hill and Goza each recorded home runs as Tech scored a season-high 13 runs, including 11 in the final two innings, to record the doubleheader sweep.

Tech had a golden opportunity to blow the game open early as Kendra Harmon single and then one out later, Utah State pitcher Mandy Harmon walked Janna Frandrup and Allie Geisler to load the bases.

Heather Doiron then drew a bases-loaded RBI walk to make the score 1-0. Meghan Knowles then lined a pitch over the left fielders head to score Frandrup, but some base-running miscues cost the Techsters a second run as USU threw out a runner at second for the second out.

With runners on first and third and two outs, Molly Goza appeared to have an RBI single by USU shortstop Allison Lorenza made a diving stop and recorded the force out at second for the final out of the inning.

Meghan Krieg pitched around a leadoff triple by Meghan McDonald in the first as the Lady Techsters held onto a 2-0 lead until the bottom of the third. McDonald led the frame off with a line drive solo home run - her third of the year - as the lead was cut to 2-1.

Krieg again pitched around a runner on third and less than two outs situation in the bottom of the fourth as she struck out Kassandra Uchida looking for the final out of the frame.

The score remained 2-1 until the top of the sixth inning when Doiron hit her first home run of the season - and the ninth of her career - over the left field wall, making the scored 3-1. Following a Knowles walk and a Molly Goza line out, Katelynn Hill launched a towering two-run home run to left center as Tech led 5-1. It was Hill's first home run of her career.

After USU scratched for a run in the bottom of the sixth, the floodgates opened in the top of the seventh as Tech scored eight runs on six hits and one error.

The inning was highlighted by a three-run home run by Goza - her third of the year - and a bases-clearing triple by Frandrup.

Krieg, who threw more than 250 pitches in the doubleheader, allowed four runs in the bottom of the seventh on four hits, capped by a grand slam home run by Shasta Tyteca but the Sonora, Texas native got the final outs for the win.

Krieg (10-21) allowed six earned runs on 12 hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters in the win. On the day, she recorded 22 strikeouts and now has 252 on the year - only nine away from breaking her own record of 260 strikeouts in a season set last year.

Harmon recorded another three-hit game while Knowles and Hill each recorded two hits. Frandrup, Geisler, Doiron and Goza each had one hit in the win while Frandrup, Doiron and Goza each registered three RBIs.

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