RUSTON – Sam Houston jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and did not look back as Louisiana Tech fell 7-4 in game two of the series on Saturday at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field. The loss moves LA Tech to 22-23 (8-12 Conference USA).
 
The Bulldogs were outhit 10-5, with all five hits going for singles. Gracie Flores led the team with two hits, two runs and one RBI. Alannah Rogers had one hit and one RBI, while Bradi Gallaway and Raegan Henderson added singles. Elena Heng and Rosalie Dufresne drove in one run each.
 
Laney Johson (6-4) made the start in the circle and took the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on four hits with two walks in 1.1 innings. Ruby Fidge allowed one run on three hits over 2.2 innings while Bryannah Campos did not allow a run over the final three innings. Campos allowed three hits and struck out two in her scoreless outing.
 
The Bearkats took advantage of two errors and two hits in the top of the first to take an early 3-0 lead. Sam Houston led off the game with a double followed by a walk and a wild pitch to put two in scoring position. A fielding error allowed a run to score, followed by a single and a second fielding error to make it 3-0.
 
Tech got one run back in the bottom as Flores came around to score after reaching on a single. She was able to advance to third after two straight walks to load the bases with one out and scored on a fielder's choice from Heng.
 
Sam Houston matched their first inning total with three runs in the second to take a 6-1 lead. The Bearkats used a single, a fielding error and a three-run home run to start the inning.
 
The Bulldogs plated two in the bottom of the second as Dufresne was hit by a pitch to start the frame and was replaced by Jina Baffuto who reached on a fielder's choice. Baffuto advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a single up the middle off the bat of Flores to make it 6-2. Flores, who advanced to second on the throw, scored on a single from Rogers to cut the deficit in half.
 
LA Tech pulled within two runs at 6-4 in the third as Heng came around to score on a groundout from Dufresne. Heng advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on an infield single from Henderson. The Bulldogs would only get four runners on the rest of the game, utilizing two walks, a fielder's choice and a seventh inning single from Gallaway. Kendall Daniel earned the win in relief as she allowed one run on two hits over five innings. 
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Josh Taylor
Coach Taylor's Postgame Comments.…

"We make three errors in the first two innings. We put Laney [Johnson] behind the eight ball there, and it all leads to runs. It leads to three in the top of the first and three in the top of the second. You're chasing six early. I mean, we get one back in the bottom half, but we are chasing runs all game long. You can't play and win at this level doing that. You have to make routine plays when they are presented to you, and you have to pitch. Timely hitting, pitching and defense is what wins championships, and you have to be able to do the pitching and defensive part every single day. We have to have better quality at bats as well. We get some momentum there in the top of the fifth, Bry [Bryannah Campos] goes out there and throws a scoreless top of the fifth, and we are right in it, and we go out and she [Sam Houston's pitcher] has a five pitch inning, because our leadoff hitter pops out on the first pitch…softly to third on a ball that's up and in with no plan and approach. And then we go two or three pitches the next at bat, and the girl that is hitting in three-hole swings at the first pitch and grounds out to third base. We don't hit balls hard enough. We don't have quality at bats time and time again; we find ways to get ourselves out. And then today, the story is we didn't play defense either, and you're in a game still with that. And they've got to understand that if you're going to win at this level, those three things, we win that game 4-1 if we have all three components working today, and that's assuming we don't get more runners on base, and things aren't different in that, because maybe they're handling their pitching differently. You have to play this game at a certain level in order to win games. Right now, we're not doing that, and it's evident by how we're going. It's certainly not the standard or the expectation of Louisiana Tech softball. It is not okay with me. We are going to work on fixing it now, but if we can't fix it now, we'll fix it in the future."
 
NOTABLES
- Josh Taylor moves to 157-114 as head coach at LA Tech.
- LA Tech leads the all-time series 21-17 against Sam Houston.
- Gracie Flores has hit safely in 11 consecutive games after collecting two hits today. It marked her seventh multi-hit game of the year.
 
NEXT UP
The Bulldogs and Bearkats will close out the series with the series finale tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.