BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A 2019 season plagued with injury and devastating destruction to its home field culminated in record-breaking success and an emotional hoist of not one, but two trophies as Regular-Season Co-Champion and second-seeded Louisiana Tech defeated No. 4 Marshall 3-1 in Saturday's Air Force Reserve Conference USA Softball Championship hosted by UAB in Birmingham, Alabama.

Bracket
Box Score
Championship Stats
Overall Stats

The Lady Techsters (44-14) will bring home their third-ever conference title, second C-USA crown, and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, now with a program third-most wins on the year. The NCAA Selection show is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT Sunday on ESPN2. The team's postseason fate will be decided exactly one week after it notched the program's first-ever regular-season crown. 

Marshall returned to the title game for the first time since 2014 after compiling the second-highest win total in program history at 39-20. Herd fell to the Techsters in Friday's semifinals and upset No. 1 North Texas for the second time this week to punch its ticket to the championship round. 

Louisiana Tech used a two-run third inning to take the lead and another insurance run in the fourth to put the game away. Morgan Turkoly swung an RBI triple and Jazlyn Crowder, Tournament MVP and 2019 C-USA Player of the Year, laid down the sacrifice bunt in the third frame to put Louisiana Tech in the driver’s seat. Both seniors went 2-for-3 at the plate each with an RBI and Turkoly added a run. Bayli Simon was 1-for-3 with an RBI and scored the final run on a wild pitch in the fourth.

Krystal De La Cruz (17-3) posted the win in the circle for the Techsters. The senior allowed one earned run on three hits and three strikeouts through four innings. Senior Preslee Gallaway earned her fifth save of the season with 2.2 shutout innings in relief. 

Marshall's Mya Stevenson pounded her second homer of the tournament and league-leading 17^th of the season to cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth. Catcher Hayden Ellis went 2-for-3 to total a third of the Herd's hits on the day. Senior Abigail Tolbert allowed Tech's three earned runs on six hits and a pair of strikeouts. 

2019 C-USA All-Tournament Team
OF: Jazlyn Crowder, Louisiana Tech (MVP)
OF: Morgan Turkoly, Louisiana Tech
OF: Sydney Heath, Middle Tennessee
IF: Aly Harrell, Marshall
IF: Lacy Gregory, North Texas
IF: Kimmie Atienza, Louisiana Tech
IF: Lindsay Edwards, Louisiana Tech
P: Krystal De La Cruz, Louisiana Tech
P: Abigail Tolbert, Marshall
C: Marilyn Rizzato, Louisiana Tech
DP: Mya Stevenson, Marshall
UT: Sloane Stewartson, Louisiana Tech