RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech Softball team fell 3-2 in its series opener against FIU on Friday night at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.

A two-out RBI single to right field in the top of the seventh inning by FIU designated player Janelle Martinez drove in the game-winning run in the Panthers' 3-2 win.

FIU plated a run with two outs in both the first and fourth innings as a pair of Louisiana Tech errors prolonged both frames. With two outs and the Bulldogs trailing, 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Alannah Rogers tied the game by roping a two-run double into the right-center field gap.

Allie Floyd (13-7) went the distance and took the loss despite allowing just six hits and one earned run while recording three strikeouts. The complete-game performance was Floyd's eighth this season and 12^th of her career.

Alexis Gilio (2-3) led LA Tech with two hits on the night. In addition to Rogers' double, Caroline Easom and Brooke Diaz both singled in the loss. Diaz's second-inning single increased her hitting streak to six games.

Alina Varga threw two hitless innings of relief while allowing a walk and striking out two batters to earn her sixth win of the season for FIU (20-28, 7-15). Sydney Birling (5 IP, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) started for the Panthers.

NOTABLES
- Allie Floyd threw her 12^th career complete game and her eighth complete game this season.
- LA Tech has outscored opponents 50-27 in the fifth inning this season.
- Louisiana Tech is 7-7 all-time in games played on May 3.
- Alannah Rogers registered her sixth career multi-RBI game with a two-run double while increasing her reached base streak to five games.
- The Bulldogs are 101-63 under head coach Josh Taylor who owns a career head coaching record of 334-231.
- Alexis Gilio notched her 26^th career multi-hit game with a pair of singles in the contest.
- Caroline Easom turned her 55^th career double play. She is one double play away from tying the program record of 56 set by Karlee Jensen.
- Brooke Diaz increased her hitting streak to six games and reached-base streak to seven games with a one-out single in the bottom of the second inning.

QUOTABLES
On the game…
"We were not very offensive tonight. We pitched well enough to win by only allowing three runs. If we are competitive on the offensive end we are extremely hard to beat. If we do not swing the bats like we are capable of and get jammed all day we are not ... It is frustrating because this team is very talented offensively we just have not made adjustments." - head coach Josh Taylor.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Collier Peaden of FIU led off the game with a single through the left side and advanced to second on an infield single by Kally Meredith. Peaden would later come around to score on an error, giving FIU an early 1-0 lead. 

In the bottom half, Alexis Gilio legged out an infield single for the Bulldogs' first hit of the night. 

Floyd kept FIU off the board in the top of the second. FIU threatened as Abigail Brown and Makayla Navarro both singled and reached second and third with two outs in the frame, but Floyd issued a groundout to Nicole Hammoude at shortstop to escape unscathed. 

Hammoude was robbed of an extra-base hit when Navarro had a leaping grab on a scorched line drive at second for the first out of the home half. Brooke Diaz extended her hitting streak to six games with a one-out single into right-center field. 

In the third inning, the Panthers' Janelle Martinez singled to right field to lead off the inning. Floyd would buckle down and retire the next three FIU batters courtesy of a flyout and consecutive groundouts to complete a scoreless frame.

Birling retired the side in the bottom of the third.

An error and a wild pitch led to another FIU run in the top of the fourth, increasing the visitor's lead to 2-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Gilio recorded her second hit of the game with another infield single, but that was all Tech could muster. 

Floyd spun a scoreless fifth inning, highlighted by a 6-4-3 ground ball double play for the final two outs. 

Caroline Easom led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single down the first-base line. Following the single, Jina Baffuto entered in her place as a pinch runner and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Claire Raley. Paris Endris followed with a walk to put runners on first and second and with one out. Olivia Ellingson pinch-ran for Endris after the walk. Alannah Rogers stepped to the plate with two outs and crushed a double into the right-center field gap, scoring Baffuto and Ellingson to tie the game at 2-2.

Floyd retired the Panthers in order in the top of the sixth inning. 

Alina Varga relieved Birling to pitch the bottom of the sixth and would take it the rest of the way. Kylie Neel led off the bottom half with a walk before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt from Hammoude. However, Neel would not advance further as Varga escaped the frame with a lineout and foul-out.

A two-out walk by Kally Meredith would come back to haunt the Bulldogs in the top of the seventh. Meredith would steal second to advance in scoring position with one out before scoring the game-winning run on an RBI single to right field by Martinez. 

Varga issued a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh for the series-opening win.

NEXT UP
The Bulldogs are back tomorrow as they take on the Panthers in a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
 
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