KENNESAW, Ga. – Louisiana Tech softball used five RBI from
Alexis Gilio and a strong relief outing from
Alyssa Martin to defeat Kennesaw State 11-6 on Friday night at Bailey Park. The win gives the Bulldogs a series victory over the Owls as they move to 27-18 (13-7 CUSA).
Gilio paced the Bulldogs at the plate as the senior center fielder drove in five runs on three hits. She tallied two extra base hits with a double and triple, while also scoring two runs.
Reagan Marchant finished with one hit and three RBI, while
Jina Baffuto finished with two RBI and three runs.
Allie Furr collected two base knocks and scored two runs, while
Elena Heng also scored two runs in the win.
Claire Raley,
Addison Snyder, Heng, Marchant, and Baffuto finished with one hit apiece.
Laney Johnson made the start in the circle and logged 3.2 innings. She gave up five runs (two earned) on eight hits, while striking out two and walking none.
Mattison Buster faced four batters in the top of the fourth and gave up one unearned run on three hits.
Alyssa Martin picked up the win after pitching the final three frames. The Minden native did not allow a hit or a run and struck out two batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
LA Tech jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first and led all game despite KSU cutting the lead to one in the fourth. Heng singled up the middle on the second pitch of the game and made her way to third on a stolen base and a throwing error. Gilio recorded her first RBI of the night as she shot a single up the middle to score Heng.
The Bulldogs took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning as they used two hits to score three runs. Baffuto led off the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a Heng sac bunt. Furr singled up the middle and advanced to second on the throw while Baffuto advanced to third. Gilio hit a bases clearing triple that scored Baffuto and Furr to make it 3-0 LA Tech. Marchant was able to score Gilio on a sac fly, making it 4-0 LA Tech.
KSU cut the lead to two in the bottom of the frame as they used four runs and two hits, with all the damage coming with two outs.
KSU made a pitching change in the top of the fourth and Raley welcomed her into the game with a leadoff triple. Snyder got on base after she was hit by a pitch and was pinch ran for by
Gracie Flores. Flores advanced 60 feet to second on a stolen base and would come around to sore along with Raley on a Baffuto single to center to give the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead. Baffuto came around to score the third run of the inning on a wild pitch.
The Owls cut LA Tech's lead to one in the bottom of the fourth, as they scored four runs on five hits and one error to make it 7-6. KSU reached on a fielding error to start the inning, followed by back-to-back outs that would have ended the frame. The Owls proceeded to get five two-out hits while scoring four unearned runs.
After a scoreless fifth, LA Tech plated four runs on three hits to take an 11-6 lead. Baffuto and Heng drew back-to-back two-out walks, followed by a single from Furr to load the bases for Gilio. Gilio recorded her fourth and fifth RBI as she doubled to center to score Heng and Baffuto.
Marchant drove in the final two runs of the game as she doubled off the wall in right-center to score Gilio and Furr, making it 11-6 LA Tech.
NOTABLES
The Bulldogs move to 2-0 all-time against Kennesaw State.
Laney Johnson made her 13
th start of the season in the circle.
Alyssa Martin picked up her second win of the season after pitching the final 3.0 frames, while allowing no runs and no hits.
Alexis Gilio recorded her 12
th multi-hit game of the season after collecting three hits.
Allie Furr finished with two hits, marking her eighth multi-hit game of the year.
Alexis Gilio set a new career-high with five RBI. It is her fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
Reagan Marchant recorded her 12
th multi-RBI game of the season after collecting three RBI.
Jina Baffuto recorded her second multi-RBI game of the season after driving in two runs.
NEXT UP
LA Tech and KSU will be back in action tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. CT to close out the three-game series. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
