NEWARK, Del. – Louisiana Tech softball split its opening day at the Conference USA Championship Tournament on Wednesday, defeating FIU, 2-1, in eight innings before falling to Liberty, 9-0, in five innings. The Bulldogs moved to 30-24 overall with the split.

With the win in game one, LA Tech moved to the double elimination format before falling to Liberty. The Bulldogs will face New Mexico State in an elimination game on Thursday.

GAME ONE | LA TECH 2, FIU 1 (8)

After falling behind in the first inning, the Bulldogs answered in the third when Gracie Flores doubled to right-center before Bradi Gallaway drove her home with an RBI double down the left-field line to even the score at 1-1.

The two teams remained tied at one through the next four innings as both pitching staffs settled in. Allie Floyd made the start and allowed one run in two innings before Bryannah Campos took over in relief and kept the Panthers off the scoreboard the rest of the way. Campos worked six shutout innings and stranded five runners while striking out two.

FIU threatened in the sixth after loading the bases with one out, but the Bulldogs came away unscathed after cutting down the potential go-ahead run at the plate and recording a strikeout to end the inning.

Tech finally broke through in the eighth. Rosalie Dufresne and Jina Baffuto opened the inning with back-to-back singles before Allie Furr delivered a two-out RBI single to center field, scoring Baffuto for the go-ahead run.

Campos closed the door in the bottom half of the inning, retiring the final two batters after FIU put the tying run on second base to secure the victory for the Bulldogs.

GAME TWO | LU 9, LA TECH 0 (5)
Liberty struck first in the opening inning after Ella Fox doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Savannah Jessee to give the Flames an early 1-0 advantage.

The Bulldogs threatened in the second and third innings after singles from Rogers and Heng, but Liberty starter Karlie Keeney kept Tech off the scoreboard through the first three frames.

The Flames broke the game open in the third inning with back-to-back home runs. After Brynn McManus doubled down the left-field line, Jessee launched a two-run homer to center before Alexia Carrasquillo followed with a solo shot to right-center to extend the lead to 4-0.

Liberty added five more runs in the fourth inning behind four hits, highlighted by a two-run single from McManus and a two-run double by Jessee.

Tech managed just four hits in the contest, with Flores, Rogers and Heng accounting for three of them. The Bulldogs put two runners aboard in the fifth inning after a walk by Baffuto and a leadoff walk from Marchant, but Liberty closed out the shutout victory with a strikeout to end the game.

NOTABLES
- Josh Taylor moves to 165-115 as head coach at LA Tech.
- Gracie Flores now has a 20-game hitting streak.
 
NEXT UP
LA Tech will take on NMSU in an elimination game on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. CT.