MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Down 4-3 in the top of the seventh with two outs and two strikes, Reagan Marchant hit a two-run home run, and Aleah Brooks followed with a solo shot to lift the Bulldogs to a 6-4 win over Middle Tennessee on Thursday night at Blue Raider Softball Field. The win moves LA Tech to 20-17 (6-7 Conference USA).
 
The Bulldogs outhit the Blue Raiders 10-7 as Gracie Flores and Allie Furr led the way with three hits apiece. Reagan Marchant drove in three runs on two hits, while Bradi Gallaway and Aleah Brooks had one hit and one RBI each.
 
Bryannah Campos (5-3) earned the win in the circle after tossing the final two frames as she allowed one hit and no runs. Laney Johnson made the start and pitched 5.0 innings while allowing four runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
 
Tech jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first as Elena Heng drew a walk and advanced to second on a single from Flores. Gallaway plated the first run of the game as she drove in Heng with a single to right field. Furr singled to score Flores, while Marchant drove in Alannah Rogers, who reached on a fielder's choice, with a sac fly to make it 3-0.
 
MTSU tacked on two runs in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on a single that led to a groundout RBI and a solo home run that cut the deficit to one.
 
The Blue Raiders took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth as a leadoff single and walk put two runners on with no outs. After a fielder's choice, MTSU delivered a bases-clearing single to take a one run lead.
 
After a strikeout and groundout to begin the seventh, Reese Torres was hit by a pitch to keep the inning alive. With a 2-2 count and two outs, Marchant launched a fly ball to left that cleared the fence for a two-run home run, giving Tech a 5-4 lead. Brooks followed with a solo shot to right to extend the lead to 6-4.
 
Campos then worked a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh to secure the series-opening win for the Bulldogs.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Josh Taylor
Coach Taylor's Postgame Comments.…

"Proud of our fight tonight. I thought [Laney] Johnson gave us a quality start and [Bryannah] Campos was fantastic. We have been looking for a spark offensively and we got it in the 7th tonight. Big at bats by [Reese] Torres, [Reagan] Marchant and [Aleah] Brooks. We will look to tomorrow and use tonight's momentum for added confidence."
 
NOTABLES
- Josh Taylor moves to 155-108 as head coach at LA Tech.
- The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against MTSU 17-12.
- The Bulldogs hit back-to-back home runs for the first time this season as Reagan Marchant and Aleah Brooks homered in the seventh.
- Gracie Flores registered her fourth multi-hit game of the season after finishing with a career-high three hits.
- Allie Furr logged her 10^th multi-hit game of the season her second three-hit performance.
- Reagan Marchant recorded her team-leading 10^th home run of the season and 30^th RBI of the season, while also logging her seventh multi-RBI game.
- Bradi Gallaway upped her on base streak to 17 games.
- Allie Furr has a seven-game hit streak.
- Bryannah Campos pitched her third consecutive scoreless outing of 2.0 innings or longer.
- Reese Torres was hit by a pitch three times today and leads the team with 11 HBPs this season.
 
 NEXT UP
The Bulldogs and Blue Raiders will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m.