RUSTON – Louisiana Tech closed the Bulldog Classic on a strong note, defeating Central Arkansas 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field.
 
Allie Floyd (5-2) went the distance in the circle, while a trio of Bulldog freshmen combined for seven hits and five RBI. Freshman Cali Bennett led the Bulldogs with four hits and two RBI, while fellow freshman Aleah Brooks drove in two runs on two hits, followed by freshman Bradi Gallaway who registered one hit and one RBI.
 
Floyd went the distance, allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts over seven innings. The Bulldogs outhit the Bears 9-5. Bailie Runner took the loss for UCA, giving up six runs on six hits while issuing six walks. Tech's batters struck out just twice.
 
UCA jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first after recording back-to-back one out doubles. Tech answered with two runs on two hits in the bottom of the inning as Elena Heng drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a Bennett single and to third on a Gallaway sacrifice bunt. Heng came around to score on a passed ball while Bennett advanced 60 feet to third and came home on a Brooks double to left field.
 
The Bears tied the game in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly. UCA capitalized on a leadoff walk, single and wild pitch to get a runner in scoring position. LA Tech took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth as Alannah Rogers led off the with a pinch-hit bunt single and advanced to second after Allie Furr drew a walk. Heng placed down a sac bunt to put two runners in scoring position while Bennett cleared the bases with a double to right center that scored Furr and Rogers.
 
UCA cut the lead to one in the top of the sixth using a walk and two singles. The Bulldogs answered in the bottom of the frame, adding two runs on four hits to take a 6-3 lead which would prove to hold. After a groundout to start the bottom half, Heng singled to short and was able to move to second on a Bennett single. Gallaway singled through the right side and scored Heng followed by a Brooks single down the left field line to score Bennett.
 
Floyd was able to induce two groundouts and one fly out to close the game after issuing a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Josh Taylor
 
Coach Taylor's thoughts on the win.…
"There are three components to winning games, and that is great defense, great pitching, and timely hitting, and we finally got all three today. That is the difference. We got a great start from Allie Floyd. We got some timely hits from our freshmen, from [ Aleah Brooks] Brooksie, from [Cali] Bennett…from Gallaway, who had a big timely hit there at the end and that is going to be the difference. Our slappers have been doing a great job all weekend of setting the tables and we just need to find a way to get that timely hit and we were able to do that today."
 
NOTABLES
- Josh Taylor moves to 148-97 as head coach at LA Tech.
- LA Tech and UCA are now 5-5 against each other all day.
- Allie Floyd now has 32 career outings with five or more strikeouts after registering five today.
- Cali Bennett recorded four hits, becoming the first Bulldog to do so since Nicole Hammoude against Kennesaw last season (4/19/2025).
- Aleah Brooks notched her sixth multi-hit game of the season while Cali Bennett totaled her fourth.
- Aleah Brooks registered her fourth multi-RBI game of the season while Cali Bennett drove in multiple runs for the first time.
- Bulldog batters collected matched their season-high of seven walks for the third time this season.
- Bulldog batters only struck out twice, making LA Tech 8-0 when striking out two times or less.
 
NEXT UP
The Bulldogs will travel to College Station, Texas, to face A&M on Wednesday evening. First pitch is slated for 6:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on SECN+.