Ruston, La. – Behind a complete-game shutout from sophomore Allie Floyd, the Louisiana Tech Softball team defeated Missouri State 2-0 on Friday night at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
 
Floyd was phenomenal on her way to her third victory of the season. She struck out seven while surrendering just three hits and no walks during her seven innings of work. After the first two Missouri State (2-7) batters of the ballgame reached base, Floyd breezed through the visiting lineup by retiring 21 of her final 23 batters faced. The seven-inning complete game shutout was the first of her career.
 
Aubree Seaney and Alexis Gilio led the Bulldogs (7-1) at the plate as both went 2-3. Seaney had a pair of doubles and an RBI while Gilio had an RBI single and a double. Claire Raley led off the game with a triple to right field and scored on the RBI single from Gilio for the first run of the game. Kylie Neel also recorded a base hit during the victory and scored on Seaney's RBI double in bottom of the third inning.
 
Allie Floyd improved to 3-0 on the season with the victory, while Gracie Johnston took the loss for Missouri State to fall to 0-7.

NOTABLES
- Allie Floyd's complete-game shutout was the first of her career. She threw seven innings of shutout ball at ULM on April 4, 2023 but it came in relief during a 5-4 10-inning win. Floyd finished just one strikeout shy of her single-game career high of eight which she set previously this season in a 4-1 victory over Southeastern on Feb. 14.
- Claire Raley extended her hitting streak to six games and Alexis Gilio extended her hitting streak to five games.
- Alannah Rogers drew a second-inning walk to increase her reached-base streak to a team-best seven games.
- Brooke Diaz caught her 33^rd runner stealing in her career when she threw out the Bears' Abby Ford in the top of the third. Diaz has thrown out all three runners that have attempted to steal on her this season.
- Allie Floyd did not walk a runner during the win. It marked the 28^th time that the LA Tech pitching staff has issued no walks in a game under pitching coach Chelsea Cohen. In those 28 games the Bulldogs' record is 22-6.
- LA Tech is now 57-9 when scoring first under head coach Josh Taylor (2022-present) and 467-169 when scoring first since 2000.
- The Bulldogs are now 2-1 this season when scoring in the first inning and 35-7 when scoring in the first under Josh Taylor.
- With the win, LA Tech has now won 522 games at home all time, including 45 at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
- The Bulldogs are now 11-10 all time in games played on Feb. 23.
- LA Tech is now 7-0 this season in games started by an opposing right-handed pitcher. It was the 267th win against a right-handed starting pitcher this decade.
- La Tech is now 9-5 all-time against Missouri State
- The win was the 1,281^st in program history for Louisiana Tech.

QUOTABLES
"Allie Floyd was fantastic. She put us on her back and carried us. Our offense struggled to get on time most of the night. We had a few big hits. I thought Claire Raley looked really good at the plate. Alexis Gilio and Aubree Seaney had quality at-bats all night. Caroline Easom also had quality at-bats even though she had nothing to show for it. If we can get everybody going a little bit we have a chance to be really explosive. We had pitching and defense and when you win 2-0 on a Friday night at home that is what it takes." – head coach Josh Taylor.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Allie Floyd made her third start of her sophomore campaign for Louisiana Tech. Gracie Johnston made her sixth start for the Bears. 

Missouri State center fielder Abby Ford led off the game with an infield single to second base. Ford would advance to second on a ground ball to shortstop off the bat of Olivia Krehbiel. Miscommunication by the LA Tech middle infield on who was covering second base, allowed Ford to advance while Krehbiel reached first. The play was scored a fielder's choice as Tech elected to try to get the lead runner. An Ellie McCoy sacrifice bunt allowed the runners to advance to second and third with one out. Floyd would escape the inning and kill any hope of Missouri State plating a run with back-to-back strikeouts.
 
The Bulldogs wasted no time in the bottom of the first. Claire Raley led off the inning with a triple to right field and then came around to score on a single up the middle by Alexis Gilio to give Tech a 1-0 lead.
 
Floyd retired the Bears in order, courtesy of back-to-back strikeouts and a lineout to Raley at third in the top of the second. In the home half, Alannah Rogers drew a one-out walk to increase her reached-base streak to seven games. One batter later, Brooke Diaz drew a full count before walking, which set up a strange sequence of events. With a 3-2 count on Diaz, Rogers was running on the pitch, and MSU catcher Sidney McLaughlin's throw to second ricocheted off of Diaz's helmet into foul territory down the first base line, allowing Rogers to take third. With runners on the corner and one out, Missouri State and Johnston escaped the jam as she issued a strikeout and popup to keep LA Tech from extending its lead.
 
In the third, Floyd spun another scoreless inning, highlighted by Diaz throwing out a runner trying to steal second for the inning's second out. The Bulldogs added its final run in the contest when Aubree Seaney doubled into left-center to score Kylie Neel from first for a 2-0 lead. Neel reached base two batters prior courtesy of a single up the middle.
 
Floyd made it four straight scoreless innings in the fourth. Johnston answered Floyd's scoreless frame by retiring LA Tech in order in the bottom half bookend by back-to-back strikeouts.
 
Both sides were held at bay in the fifth. Floyd retired the Bears in order by issuing a pair of flyouts and a strikeout. Gilio doubled down the left field line in the home portion of the inning for her second hit of the game but would be stranded.
 
Floyd continued her excellence in the sixth with another 1-2-3 inning. Seaney led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to right field, her second of the game. Olivia Ellingson would pinch run for Seaney but would be stuck at third to end the inning.
 
In the seventh, Floyd trotted to the circle with a 2-0 lead to finish the complete game. She struck out the Bears' Chloe Merced for the first out of the inning before fielding a comebacker and tossing it to Seaney at first for the second out of the inning. Floyd then got Emily Shipman to fly out to Gilio in right-center field for the final out of the ballgame.

NEXT UP
The Bulldogs will continue their series with Missouri State tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
 
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