MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Louisiana Tech Softball team won its series against Middle Tennessee with a 5-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Blue Raider Softball Field.
 
The Bulldogs are on a seven-game winning streak and are 5-0 in CUSA play this season. With a win tomorrow, Louisiana Tech can earn a series sweep of Middle Tennessee. LA Tech (19-4, 5-0 CUSA) is off to its best start since 1989.
 
Katelin Cooper hit her second home run of the season, a solo shot to right field in the top of the third inning, to give Tech a 1-0 lead. Middle Tennessee tied the game with an RBI infield single in the bottom of the sixth before the Bulldogs put the game out of reach with a four-run seventh inning in which they collected five hits.
 
Cooper (2-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI), Nicole Hammoude (2-4), and Claire Raley (2-4, 1 3B, SB) all led the Bulldogs at the plate while Alannah Rogers, Alexis Gilio (1 RBI), Kylie Neel, Brooke Diaz and Aubree Seaney (2 RBI) each recorded base hits in the victory. Caroline Easom also drove in a run courtesy of a fielder's choice.
 
Brook Menychuk made her ninth start of the season and was magnificent. The right-handed junior threw 4.1 shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out one. Allie Floyd (2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R) took it the rest of the way to earn her ninth victory this year. Floyd is now 9-1 this season.
 
Middle Tennessee (12-18, 1-4 CUSA) starting pitcher Claire Woods took the loss for the Blue Raiders. She allowed all five runs and 11 hits while going the distance.

NOTABLES
- Alexis Gilio extended her reached-base streak to 10 games with a first-inning single.
- With 11 hits, Louisiana Tech has now reached double digits in the hits category in eight games this season, the same amount as a year ago.
- Katelin Cooper hit her second home run of the season with a solo shot in the top of the third. She leads all active Bulldogs with 13 career home runs. Cooper also singled in the seventh inning to record her 22^nd career multi-hit game.
- Claire Raley collected her fourth triple of the season in the third inning. The Bulldogs did not have a single player with four or more triples in 2023.
- Tech is now 11-2 in day games this season. With the win, LA Tech has now won 558 day games this millennium.
- LA Tech is on a seven-game winning streak, its longest since the Bulldogs won eight straight from April 15-28, 2023.
- The Bulldogs improved to 12-3 all-time in games played on March 16.
-  LA Tech is now 470-170 when scoring first since 2000 and 63-10 when scoring first under head coach Josh Taylor.
- The Bulldogs are 90-48 under head coach Josh Taylor who owns a career head coaching record of 323-216.
- Allie Floyd earned her ninth win of the season, eclipsing her total of eight from a year ago.
- Aubree Seaney recorded her ninth career multi-RBI game.
- The Bulldogs hold an all-time CUSA record of 128-81.
- LA Tech is 18-2 this season in games started by a right-handed pitcher.
- Nicole Hammoude had her sixth career multi-hit game and Claire Raley had her 21^st.
- The Bulldogs are off to their best start since 1989 when they also started 19-4.
- Louisiana Tech has now won 1,293 games all time, including 768 away from Ruston.
- The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with Middle Tennessee 13-11. Tech has won the last five matchups in Murfreesboro and is 9-2 in its last 11 games played at the Blue Raider Softball Field.

QUOTABLES
On pitching…
"Brook (Melnychuk) has been solid for us all year. She competed today. I do not think her or Allie (Floyd) felt there best but our pitchers have put us in position to win every game. I do not think our offense did a very good job of separating ourselves. Our pitchers are the backbones of this team. They proved it again today but keeping them down while our hitters could figure out a way to get done with four runs in the seventh." - head coach Josh Taylor.
 
On the four-run seventh inning…
"We told our hitters they had to take a strike to work on timing and rhythm during those moments. I do not like to do that necessarily but we have to figure out a way to be more disciplined in our at-bats. We tend to struggle with someone who is flipping up a lot of changeups and not throwing very hard because of our lack of plate discipline. Hopefully that is a lesson learned for them in the seventh when they showed discipline and figured out how to get on time." - head coach Josh Taylor.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Louisiana Tech started junior Brook Melnychuk for the ninth time this season, while Middle Tennessee went with Claire Woods.
 
Alexis Gilio singled up the middle with two outs in the top of the first, increasing her reached-base streak to 10 games.
 
Shelby Echols led off the bottom half with a bunt single. First baseman Aubree Seaney made an outstanding diving catch in foul territory on a bunt attempt for the first out of the frame. Echols then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Amaya Harris drew a walk and would later steal second with two outs in the inning. However, Melnychuk was able to get out of the inning unscathed, as she issued a foul out and a flyout to center.
 
Woods sat the Bulldogs down in order in the second inning. Melnychuk then responded with a 1-2-3 inning of her own in the home half.
 
Katelin Cooper broke the scoreless tie by hitting a mammoth solo home run to right field, giving the Dogs an early 1-0 lead. Claire Raley tripled to right-center field with two outs in the inning. Gilio then walked and stole second, but Woods and Middle Tennessee would get out of the inning with minimal damage.
 
In the bottom of the third, Echols singled to shallow left field with one out. That would be all the hosts would get as Melnychuk retired the next two batters, highlighted by a 1-4-6 putout to end the inning.
 
In the fourth, Nicole Hammoude singled to shallow left field, and Kylie Neel singled to right-center field to put runners on the corner with one out. Neel stole second with two outs in the inning to put both runners in scoring position, but Woods got an inning-ending strikeout. Melnychuk tossed a scoreless bottom half, with Ansley Blevins reaching on a walk for the Blue Raiders' only baserunner in the inning.
 
Raley singled up the middle with one out in the fifth, but that was all the Dogs could muster. The Blue Raiders' Shelby Sargent doubled to left-center field with one out in the bottom half. The Bulldogs elected to make a pitching change and brought in Allie Floyd, who would escape the inning by issuing a popout and flyout to deep center.
 
Woods struck out the side in the top of the sixth. The Blue Raiders tied it up in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of an RBI single by Riley Gilmore.
 
In the seventh inning, Brooke Diaz singled through the left side to lead off the inning. With Cooper at the plate and Diaz on first, Louisiana Tech Head Coach Josh Taylor singled for a slash, which Katelin Cooper executed perfectly by pulling the bat back and hitting a ground ball to a massive hole on the right side to put runners on first and second. Alannah Rogers singled to left-centerfield to load the bases with no outs. Following a strikeout, Alexis Gilio and Caroline Easom hit back-to-back ground balls to the right side that the Blue Raiders fielded and unsuccessfully attempted to get the force out at home, allowing each run to score. As a result, Gilio and Easom were both credited with a fielder's choice and an RBI as Tech took a 3-1 lead. Aubree Seaney then provided insurance with a single up the middle that drove in two more and made it 5-1 in favor of the Bulldogs.
 
Middle Tennessee would not go down without a fight. After Floyd got Sargent to ground out to Easom at second for the first out of the inning, Shelby Echols singled, and Ava Tepe hit a two-run home run to left field to cut the lead to 5-3. Floyd then got Amaya Harris to ground out to shortstop before Julia Garcia reached on a walk. Ansley Blevins stepped to the plate as the game's tying run, but Floyd would get her to fly out to Gilio in center field to give the Bulldogs the victory and the series.

NEXT UP
The Bulldogs will go for a series sweep tomorrow at Noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
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