PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO – Louisiana Tech softball finished the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge with a 2-3 record after falling to Northern Colorado and No. 12 Florida State on Saturday afternoon. 
 
The Bulldogs fell 8-4 to UNC in game one and 9-1 to No. 12 Florida State to wrap up the five game event.
 
GAME ONE
 
Despite outhitting the Bears 10-8, LA Tech was unable to produce enough runs, leaving nine runners stranded on the base paths. Alyssa Martin earned the start and took the loss after giving up four runs on three hits. 
 
Freshman Ryleigh Shull relieved Martin and tossed 4.0 innings while allowing four runs on five hits with three strikeouts. 
 
The Bears jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after the first inning, including a lead-off home run to start the day. A walk to the second batter of the afternoon and home run to the third would make it 3-0 UNC. The Bears plated two more runs after a four pitch walk and two doubles to make it 5-0 after the first frame. 
 
The Bulldogs registered two runs in the top of the second inning as Claire Raley came around to score Tech's first run on a Karolyn Glover single up the middle. Alexis Gilio added a single up the middle to score Nicole Hammoude who reached base after getting hit by a pitch.
 
UNC added its third home run of the game, a two-run shot to centerfield, giving them the 7-2 advantage. 
 
Raley led off the sixth with a single and advanced to second on a Hammoude single. Glover joined the single party to load the bases. Allie Furr came in to pinch hit and drew a walk which allowed Raley to cross the plate. Gilio followed that up with her second RBI of the day as she hit a sac fly to center. UNC tallied one final run in the bottom of the frame to take the 8-4 advantage. 
 
Raley and Glover both collected two hits apiece, while Gilio tallied two RBI. Hammoude and Raley led the Bulldogs with two scores each. 
 
GAME TWO
 
The second game of the day saw Florida State jump out to a 3-0 lead after scoring one run in each of the first three frames, including solo home runs in the first and second inning. FSU tacked on three more runs in both the fourth and the fifth. 
 
Tech plated its lone run of the game in the top of the fifth as Raley came around to score on a Paris Endris fielder's choice. 
 
Raley led the Bulldogs with two hits, while Gilio, Elena Heng and Hammoude all had one base knock each.  
 
Allie Floyd started in the circle and moved to 2-1 after allowing three runs on five hits over the span of three innings while striking out two. Laney Johnson made her collegiate debut, but it was short lived as she allowed three quick runs on one hit. 
 
Shull came in to pitch 1.2 innings of relief work and allowed three runs on two hits. 
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Josh Taylor
 
On the team's ability to produce late hits and runs…
"This team has a lot of fight in them. We got down early in game one, but you cannot give up five in the first, chasing five runs in the first is difficult. Overall, we are really happy with the weekend, we played five regional teams, three top 15 ranked teams, and I think we competed in every game. We are just going to get better and better as we go. Obviously, the win against the No. 4 team in the nation is a big win for us and it definitely helps us with confidence. We're disappointed in the outcome today, however we're not disappointed in our competitive nature and we think we made our university and hometown proud this week. This season is looking very bright for us."
 
NOTABLES

-The Bulldogs moved to 3-7 all-time in games played in Mexico.
-Josh Taylor moves to 338-237 as a head coach.
-Josh Taylor moves to 105-69 at LA Tech.
- Tech is now 3-2 against Northern Colorado.
- Tech is now 11-5-2 against Florida State.
- Nicole Hammoude and Claire Raley now have five game hit-streaks.
- Elena Heng and Alexis Gilio now have two game hit-streaks.
- Claire Raley has recorded three multi-hit games, including two today. 
- Laney Johsnon made her collegiate debut in the circle.

NEXT UP
The Bulldogs will return to the diamond on Wednesday evening as they travel to Southeastern for a mid-week contest. The first pitch from Hammond is slated for 5:00 p.m.