RUSTON, La. – The Roadrunners and Lady Techsters lined up for a second pitcher's duel in as many games, extending a mutual shutout into the sixth inning for the second straight day. Louisiana Tech (25-18, 7-7 C-USA) eventually broke through with a three-run outburst in the sixth that not only broke a no-hitter but delivered the 3-0 defeat to UTSA (7-31, 3-10 C-USA) for both the game and the Conference USA series losses.
Simply glancing at the big scoring inning and the loss for UTSA belies the phenomenal pitching performance by freshman Reagan Smith (L, 3-13), who pitched around jams with no damage and held up a no-hitter into the sixth inning of Saturday's Conference USA contest at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field. Smith induced 11 Lady Techster flyouts, struck out two and walked three, but the three Louisiana Tech hits in the sixth frame ultimately defined the outcome.
Coming off Smith putting down seven consecutive batters, Tech right fielder Kylie Neel pulled Smith's third pitch of the sixth into right center and slipped a home run just over the wall and a leaping Lindsey Davis effort, pushing Louisiana Tech ahead 1-0. The first hit of the day also broke the dam for Tech's scoring, as KB Briley reached on a dropped fly error and her pinch runner Alyssa Dean moved over on a wild pitch before scoring on the first of two Lady Techster RBI doubles from Katelin Cooper and Caroline Easom – granting Louisiana Tech the 3-0 advantage.
Given just a single frame for the Roadrunners to counter, LA Tech's Allie Floyd entered in relief for the second straight day vs. UTSA, closing the door on the 3-0 final for her fourth save after facing four batters, securing Mary Martinez' (9-3) win on 3.0 innings of action.
The Roadrunners were limited by the efficient-pitching Lady Techsters, but were not without opportunities. UTSA put the first batter of the day aboard via Kat Ibarra's leadoff single in the first and created a baserunner in five innings. In addition to Ibarra, center fielder Rylie Giddens lined a single to shallow center to lead off the fifth inning.
Although the Roadrunners have been shutout thus far in the series, the UTSA defense has only allowed a Louisiana Tech score in just 2-of-12 innings, holding the Lady Techsters to just five hits in that span.
The final contest of the three-game C-USA series between Louisiana Tech and UTSA is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch on Sunday (April 16) at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field. Next week, UTSA will see a cross-town road game at Incarnate Word ahead of a three-game home series with UAB.
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