Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Louisiana Tech
Softball Opens Conference Play Hosting LA Tech This Weekend
3/9/2018 9:00:00 AM | Softball
Date: Saturday, March 10 – Sunday, March 11
Teams: Middle Tennessee vs. Louisiana Tech
Location: Blue Raider Softball Field – Murfreesboro, Tenn.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee softball team takes it conference-leading 16-6 record into C-USA play this weekend. The Blue Raiders host preseason favorite, Louisiana Tech in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday is set to be a doubleheader beginning and 2 p.m. and Sunday will be a single game starting at noon. Stay tuned to goblueraiders.com or @MT_Softball on twitter for weather related updates or schedule changes.
The two sides met in Ruston, La. last season with the Blue Raiders coming out on top. Each team won a game with the series coming down to the final game. It turned out to be an extra innings, rain delay ordeal that saw MT best the Lady Techsters, 9-8.
It was a back and fourth game until Gretchen Greer came in in relief in the bottom of fourth inning. She produced a completely lights out performance to close out the game, striking out nine of 15 and allowing only one hit in 4.2 innings.
Offensively, Kaylyn Slatter and Precious Birdsong had home runs in the rubber match contest while Summer Burgess crossed the plate as the Blue Raiders' winning run.
Scouting the Blue Raiders (16-6)
Middle enters conference play leading C-USA in ERA (1.94), batting average (.321), and wins (16). Several Blue Raiders also top out the individual categories including Burgess and Birdsong. Burgess leads C-USA in batting average (.479) and hits (34) while Birdsong is first in runs per game (1.06).
Burgess also shows up in national rankings. She's fifth in hits, 33rd in batting average, 37th in stolen bases per game (0.64) and 38th in on-base percentage (.548).
The last time the Blue Raiders hit the diamond, they blew past Alabama A&M. MT run-ruled the Bulldogs 11-3 in five innings.
Cori Jennings got the win in the circle. She threw three innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two.
Offensively, Birdsong hit her second home run in as many games. She lifted a two-run shot over the right field fence in the third inning. Birdsong had a multi-hit game as did four other Blue Raiders including Lexi Cushing.
Cushing was 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and a RBI. Two of her hits were doubles as she is now up to five of them on the season.
Scouting Louisiana Tech (10-12)
The Lady Techsters have opened the season with one of the toughest schedules in C-USA. Half of LA Tech's 22 games have been against opponents that were ranked or receiving votes in Top 25 polls, including McNeese State, James Madison, Texas State, LSU, Texas A&M, Long Beach State, Utah, and Oregon State.
LA Tech was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win C-USA after the Lady Techsters won the C-USA tournament in 2017. They grabbed the automatic conference bid to an NCAA Regional where they faced Albany and No. 1 seed Minnesota.
The Lady Techsters had three players earned Preseason All-Conference honors, they are: Krystal De La Cruz, who was the C-USA Newcomer of the Year and a first team selection a year ago, Morgan Turkoly, also a first team selection and Marilyn Rizzato, a second team and all-freshman selection.
Freshman Sloane Stewartson, out of Castle Pines, Colo., leads LA Tech at the plate. She's hitting .366 on the year with a double and four RBI. Turkoly is hitting .358 this season with a team-high 24 hits and four doubles. Jazlyn Crowder leads the Lady Techsters on the base paths with 10 stolen bases while Turkoly has seven to her credit. Katie Smith has a team-leading nine RBI and has hit one of LA Tech's seven home runs on the year.
In the circle, Preslee Gallaway is 5-4 and has thrown over 1/3 of the Lady Techsters innings thus far. In her 58 inning of action she has accumulated a team-low 2.41 ERA, a shutout and 42 strikeouts.
