RUSTON – Coming off a top-25 road win over Southeastern on Wednesday night, Louisiana Tech softball will look to remain unbeaten as it travels to Youngsville, La., for five games in the Mardi Gras Mambo this weekend.
 
The Bulldogs open play Friday against New Mexico at 2:00 p.m., followed by Eastern Illinois at 4:00 p.m. Tech will square off against St. Thomas at 3:00 p.m. Saturday before taking on SIUE at 5:00 p.m. LA Tech will close the three-day event Sunday against Georgia State at 10:00 a.m.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 13-15, 2026
Location: Youngsville Sports Complex (Youngsville, La.)
Watch: N/A
Series History vs. New Mexico: Series Tied, 3-3 (First Meeting Since 1998)
Series History vs. EIU: LA Tech, 4-2 (First Meeting Since 2022)
Series History vs. St. Thomas: Series Tied, 1-1 (First Meeting Since 2023)
Series History vs. SIUE: SIUE, 3-0 (First Meeting Since 2022)
Series History vs. Georgia State: LA Tech, 8-0 (First Meeting Since 1994)
 
This marks LA Tech's third trip to Youngsville for the Mardi Gras Mambo, all under head coach Josh Taylor. The Bulldogs first competed in the event in 2022, finishing 3-2 with wins over St. Thomas, EIU and Lipscomb.
 
Tech went 4-1 in 2023, earning victories over Toledo, Manhattan, Florida A&M and Gardner-Webb. The Bulldogs' lone loss that season came against St. Thomas.

ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH

The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 with a 6-1 win over No. 25 Southeastern on Wednesday evening. Allie Floyd earned her first win of the season after going the distance and limiting the Lions to one run on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
 
Floyd and Bryannah Campos lead the team with three appearances each. Floyd has thrown 15.0 innings followed by Campos (10.2) and Laney Johnson (6.0). Floyd recorded her second game of the season with five or more strikeouts and is up to 26 such outings in her career.
 
Tech owns a 1.56 staff ERA and a .209 opponent batting average. Bulldog pitchers have yet to allow a home run through five games, the only staff in Conference USA to do so. The Bulldogs' 10 walks allowed is the second fewest in the league.
 
Freshman Aleah Brooks became the first Bulldog to reach double digit hits this season after registering a single against SLU. Brooks leads the team with 10 hits followed by Reese Torres, Reagan Marchant, Elena Heng and Allie Furr who all have five apiece.
 
Senior Jina Baffuto is up to three hits and three RBI on the year after having a career day against SLU. The Bossier City native finished the night 2-for-3 with three RBI, including a two-run home run, marking the first long ball of her career. Furr also finished with two hits in the win.
 
The Bulldogs have outhit their opponents 47-27 through five games, while scoring 32 runs and allowing 10. Tech has tallied 12 extra base hits including 10 doubles and two home runs.
 
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
 
New Mexico opened its season with a 2-3 record in the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas. The Lobos earned two wins over Northwestern State (3-0, 2-0), while dropping games to Baylor (7-8), No. 24 Mississippi State (1-8) and Wichita State (0-1).
 
Briana Williams led the team at the plate with five hits, four runs and a .455 average. Gabrielle Briones drove in three runs while three other Lobos finished with two apiece. Briones was the lone Lobo to homer during opening weekend.
 
McKenna Guest made a team-high three appearances in the circle with two complete games. She went 1-1 across 16.0 innings while allowing five runs on 16 hits with nine strikeouts and five walks.
 
ABOUT EASTERN ILLINOIS
 
EIU picked up two wins in the Georgia Southern Bash in the Boro to open its season. The Panthers defeated Georgia Southern (10-4) and UNC Greensboro (3-2). EIU dropped three games to WKU (1-11), Georgia Southern (4-12) and WKU (0-2).
 
EIU hit .277 as a team and was outscored 18-31. Abbi Hatton leads the team with six hits and four RBI, while two players have five hits apiece. Two different Panthers hit home runs, while Chloe Wamboldt came around to score a team-high four runs.
 
Bryanna French holds a 1-1 mark in the circle across four appearances and two starts. She has tossed a team-high 14.2 innings and has allowed six runs on 14 hits with 14 strikeouts and seven walks. Karlie McKenzie has given up 14 runs on 17 hits in 4.2 innings of work.
 
ABOUT St. Thomas
 
St. Thomas is off to a 4-1 start after outscoring its opponents 51-21 and outhitting them 59-31 in the UTEP Invitational. The Tommies batted .381 and earned wins over Utah Valley (6-1), UTEP (8-0) and New Mexico State (15-8, 15-2). St. Thomas dropped its lone game with UMass Lowell 7-10.
 
Ella Cook leads the team with nine hits, followed by Avery Wukawitz with eight. Cassidy Carby leads the team with 11 RBI while Cooks has eight. The Tommies have blasted 14 home runs through its first five games, while Wukawitz, Abbie Stierlen and Carby have three apiece.
 
Ava Kleinfeldt leads the team with a 2-0 mark in the circle. She has allowed six runs on nine hits with five strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work. Mya Tautges leads the team with 12 strikeouts in 9.1 innings.
 
ABOUT SIUE
 
SIUE comes into the weekend at 1-4 after only defeating Fresno State 5-4 in the Fresno State Tournament. The Cougars were outscored 41-6 in their five games, which included three shutout losses.
 
SIUE has totaled 13 hits and carries a .153 team batting average. Arissah Garza leads the team with three hits, while Raegan Duncan has a team-high two RBI.
 
Mia Volpert (1-1) has earned the Cougars' lone win in the circle. She leads the team with three appearances and 15.1 innings pitched, allowing 17 hits and 18 runs.
 
ABOUT GEORGIA STATE
 
Georgia State is coming off a 5-0 weekend that saw them earn wins over Drexler (11-2), Austin Peay (7-1, 8-3), West Georgia (11-6) and Bellarmine (13-8). GSU batted .446 during opening weekend and outhit its opponents 74-21, including 13 extra base hits (six doubles, three triples, four home runs).
 
The Panthers tallied 50 runs to the 20 they allowed defensively. Bella Morton leads the with 10 hits, followed by McKenzie Walker with nine. Choe Hatcher leads GSU with nine RBI and two home runs, while Maia Mumpfield ranks second with eight RBI.
 
Makayla Stephens went 4-0 in the circle and owns a 1.58 ERA with two complete games. She has thrown a team-high 17.2 innings and has allowed just four runs on six hits with 19 strikeouts and three walks. Briana Bower holds a 1-0 record with 10.1 innings of work under her belt.
 
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