RUSTON – A late two-run rally in the seventh inning was not enough as Louisiana Tech fell 5-3 to FIU in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field. The loss moves LA Tech to 22-21 (8-10 Conference USA).

The Bulldogs were outhit 12-8 and recorded just one hit through the first four innings, compared to FIU's nine through the first four innings.

Reagan Marchant led the Bulldogs with two hits and two RBI, both coming on solo home runs. Jina Baffuto added two hits, while Allie Furr, Gracie Flores, Alannah Rogers and Bradi Gallaway each recorded one.

Allie Floyd (9-13) started in the circle and took the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings, with one walk and one strikeout.

Bryannah Campos pitched the final 3.2 innings in relief, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three.

FIU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first as Kally Meredith singled to open the game, stole second, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on a single by Leah Clark.

The Panthers added solo home runs in the third and fourth from Kennedy Byrd to make it 3-0. A groundout by Janelle Martinez brought in another run in the fourth to give FIU a 4-0 lead.

LA Tech got on the board in the fifth on Marchant's solo home run, cutting the deficit to 4-1. FIU answered in the sixth as Byrd hit a two-out double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Martinez single to center to make it 5-1.

Marchant led off the seventh with her second solo home run of the game to make it 5-2. Rosalie Dufresne drew a walk and advanced to second on a groundout. Aleah Brooks grounded out, allowing Dufresne to move to third, before scoring on a single by Furr to cut the deficit to 5-3. Flores drew a walk followed by a single by from Rogers before FIU capitalized on a base running error for the final out of the game. 

QUOTABLES
Head coach Josh Taylor
Coach Taylor's Postgame Comments.…

"The first six innings I did not see much of anything, except for no energy and not a lot of compete. I have asked them, as we go down this stretch, to just compete…that is what you have left, to just compete. I did not see a lot of that in the first six innings. I liked what I saw in the seventh inning and we can talk about that in a minute, but you have to be able to compete at a high level every single day at this level and right now, we are confused on who we are and what we are, and it is very disappointing to me. That is probably the word I would use the most, disappointing, and maybe I haven't done a good enough job of establishing those things and teaching the game, going to the seventh inning with that and understanding what we need there and why. We have gone over them, but maybe not enough."
 
NOTABLES
- Josh Taylor moves to 157-112 as head coach at LA Tech.
- FIU leads the all-time series 16-12.
- Allie Furr now has a 13-game hit streak while Gracie Flores has hit safely in nine straight games.
- Reagan Marchant hit two home runs today, giving her back-to-back multi-home run games. She is now up to 33 career home runs, which is the third most in program history. Her 15 home runs this season ranks as the third most in a single season behind her 18 in 2025 and Amberly Waits' 17 in 2009.
- Reagan Marchant recorded her 10^th multi-hit game of the season and drove in multiple runs for the ninth time this season.
 
NEXT UP
The Bulldogs will be back in action next weekend as Sam Houston comes to Dr. Billy Bundrick field for a three-game CUSA series.