Box Score RUSTON – A Louisiana Tech 10^th-inning bunt and a controversial play at the plate made the difference Wednesday as Northwestern State fell 6-5 at the Lady Techster Softball Complex.
 
With runners on second and third base and one out, Louisiana Tech's Ali Galaz bunted about 10 feet from home plate to the left side of the infield.
 
NSU first baseman Brittney Jones scooped the bunt and threw home to catcher Emma Hawthorne as Lady Techsters runner Marilyn Rizzato charged home.

Rizzato slid and collided with the home plate umpire before Hawthorne appeared to apply the tag. The umpire was spun around in the collision and made the safe call about five seconds after the play.
 
Lady Demon coach Donald Pickett vigorously protested the call but to no avail.
 
NSU (11-19-1) split the season series with Louisiana Tech (20-10) after winning 5-3 in Natchitoches on March 15.
 
In the seventh inning, the Lady Demons broke a 3-3 tie when seniors Kellye Kincannon and Brittney Jones (2-for-5) plated runs. Kincannon's double RBI scored Sidney Salmans (hit by pitch) while Jones drove in Julie Rawls (walk).
 
Rawls (2-for-4) and Jones recorded four of NSU's eight hits.
 
Just one out away from victory, Louisiana Tech's Taria Page hit a two-run home run to tie the game and force extra innings. Page brought home Tori Charters, who drew one of nine Lady Techsters walks.
 
NSU fell to 0-4 in extra-inning games after losses to then-No. 15 Baylor, Lamar and Abilene Christian.
 
Redshirt sophomore Mikayla Brown (6-9) with three runs (two earned) in 5 1-3 innings. The Deville native allowed just three hits but walked six batters.
 
The Lady Demons and sophomore starter Katelyn Boles shook off a three-run first inning.
 
Page, who went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, doubled in the opening run of the game followed by an RBI single by Rizzato and a sacrifice fly by Katie Smith (2-for-4).
 
Boles responded with three shutout innings before Brown tossed two scoreless innings heading into the seventh.
 
NSU scored the next five runs: a Micayla Sorosiak RBI double in the second inning; Jordan Rains scored on a fourth-inning error and Hailee Rhodes singled in a fourth-inning run before Kincannon's and Jones' seventh-inning RBIs.
 
Louisiana Tech pitcher Preslee Gallaway (9-6), who took the loss in Natchitoches on March 15, earned the win with a scoreless 3 2-3 innings with two hits allowed.
 
NSU heads to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m. before Saturday's finale at noon.