Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications and GSU Athletic Communications
FIU 7, LA Tech Baseball 4 (Thursday)
LA Tech 6, FIU 2 (Friday)
LA Tech 4, FIU 3 – 10 innings (Saturday)
Louisiana Tech (17-16, 6-6 CUSA) returned home with a series win after taking two out of three against the FIU Panthers (10-22, 2-10 CUSA) at FIU Baseball Stadium.
Tech overcame an early setback Thursday, bounced back Friday, and secured the series with a dramatic 10-inning victory Saturday afternoon.
FIU took the opening game, 7-4, snapping Tech’s early lead and extending the Bulldogs’ losing streak to eight games — their longest since 2014. The Panthers jumped out front in the first on a leadoff home run, but Tech tied it in the third with an RBI infield hit from Colton Coates. The Bulldogs briefly led 4-2 after two runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by an RBI single from Eli Berch and an RBI double from Sebastian Mexico. FIU answered with three straight hits in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead for good, adding an insurance run in the eighth.
“It was a tough night,” said head coach Lane Burroughs. “I thought Declan Dahl was outstanding. He settled in-the leadoff hitter ambushed him on a fastball up and he got it out of the yard, but after that I thought he was really good. He pitched well enough to win the ball game, and we didn’t get it done.”
Tech evened the series in the second game with a 6-2 victory. Freshman Thomas Allen delivered a standout performance out of the bullpen, tossing 4 2/3 innings with no runs allowed and a career-high seven strikeouts. Trey Hawsey led the offensive attack with three hits and three RBIs, driving in early runs to put Tech ahead. Hudson Rowan started strong with four scoreless innings, striking out seven for a career high. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 5-0 before Allen sealed the win in relief, allowing only one run while keeping FIU off the scoreboard in the final frames.
“It felt good to have the handshake line again,” said Burroughs. “Doug Strickel had a great message to the team—just keep getting up. It’s tough and it sucks, nobody likes losing, but you have to keep getting up and keep moving forward. They’re learning something out of this—we all are, learning something about ourselves. I couldn’t be prouder of these guys.”
Saturday’s series finale was a nail-biter, with Tech emerging 4-3 in 10 innings for its first extra-inning CUSA win since 2022. FIU led early, but the Bulldogs tied the game in the third and took a brief lead in the seventh on a clutch RBI single from Berch. The Panthers tied it again in the eighth, but a combination of patience and heads-up baserunning gave Tech the go-ahead run in the 10th. McCann Libby scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded, and a final groundout to Hawsey at first secured the win. Luke Nichols had a dominant start, retiring the first 12 batters he faced and finishing with 5 1/3 innings and five strikeouts. Coates and Berch each recorded multi-hit games to anchor the Bulldogs’ offense.
“It was gritty, gutsy-a lot of adjectives for this one,” said Burroughs. “It wasn’t pretty, it was gritty and we’ll take gritty over pretty any day. We’re in a place where we need all the wins we can get, and to go on the road and win a conference series-it’s hard. To win any game is hard, but to go on the road is even harder, especially in a place like this. I’m proud of these guys.”
The series win evened Tech’s C-USA record at 6-6 and marked the first time the Bulldogs had won in Miami over FIU since 2017.
The Bulldogs are back in action in their home state on Tuesday, April 7.
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LA Tech Softball 6, Middle Tennessee 4 (Thursday)
LA Tech 13, MT 3 (Friday)
MT 11, LA Tech 9 (Saturday)
Louisiana Tech softball rallied in dramatic fashion Thursday and and rolled Friday but fell short in the series finale, winning a three-game series with Middle Tennessee at Blue Raider Softball Field. The Bulldogs won the first two games before dropping the finale, moving to 21-18 overall and 7-8 in Conference USA play.
Down 4-3 with two outs and two strikes in the top of the seventh Thursday, Reagan Marchant hit a two-run homer, followed by a solo shot from Aleah Brooks, giving the Bulldogs a 6-4 comeback victory in the series opener. LA Tech outhit the Blue Raiders 10-7, with Gracie Flores and Allie Furr leading the way with three hits each. Bryannah Campos (5-3) earned the win in relief after pitching the final two innings.
“Proud of our fight tonight,” said head coach Josh Taylor. “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.”
Friday, the Bulldogs recorded 15 hits — their most in a game in six years — to roll past Middle Tennessee 13-3. Every starter in the lineup recorded at least one hit, with Bradi Gallaway leading the team with three. Reese Torres added a two-run homer and three RBIs, while Gallaway contributed a two-run homer. Allie Floyd (9-10) pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts to earn the win. LA Tech scored eight combined runs over the final two innings to break the game open.
“Very pleased with every aspect of our game today,” said Taylor. “Two out hitting and hitting with runners in scoring position was fantastic. We were able to keep pressure applied for the entire game and Allie Floyd was gritty. That was a performance our offense needed. It was very nice to give Allie that run support and let her go out there and do what she does.”
The series concluded Saturday in a high-scoring affair, with Middle Tennessee edging LA Tech 11-9 despite the Bulldogs out-hitting the Blue Raiders 12-11. Gallaway hit a grand slam and drove in four runs, while Dufresne added a two-run homer and Marchant a solo shot. Allie Floyd (9-11) took the loss in relief. The Bulldogs overcame an 8-1 deficit with an eight-run fifth inning to take a 9-8 lead, but the Blue Raiders responded with three runs in the sixth to secure the win.
“I was very pleased with our offense all weekend,” said Taylor. “We started to settle into quality at bats and saw some great things. The bottom-line today was we did not pitch well at all. There were a lot of good things that are positive moving forward. I am excited about this final stretch of the season and look forward to seeing how we continue to compete.”
Tech travels to ULM Wednesday.
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GSU Baseball 12, Jackson State 9 (Friday)
GSU 5, JSU 2 (Saturday – Game 1)
JSU 20, GSU 10 (Saturday – Game 2)
Grambling State opened Friday’s doubleheader with a 5-2 victory over Jackson State at Wilbert Ellis Field, using strong late-inning offense and reliable bullpen work to secure the win before falling in the nightcap.
GSU imporved to 11-19 overall and 8-4 in the SWAC, while JSU fell to 14-18, 5-7 in conference play.
In Game 1, Grambling State broke a scoreless game with two runs in the sixth inning, added another in the seventh and tacked on two more in the eighth to pull away. Starting pitcher Keyon Guillory kept the Tigers competitive early, working 5 1/3 innings while allowing one earned run and striking out six.
After trailing 1-0 in the third, Grambling State struck in the sixth when Chris Marcellus singled and later scored on an error and wild pitch. Dillon Braxton followed with a bunt single and advanced around the bases on another errant throw and a wild pitch, giving GSU a 2-1 lead.
Jackson State tied the game at 2-2 in the seventh, but Grambling State answered quickly. Aidan Lopez reached on an error, and Braxton delivered a two-out RBI single to put the Tigers back on top. In the eighth, Trey Bridges drew a leadoff walk, and Charles Ashe III followed with a two-run home run to left, extending the lead to 5-2.
Trevor Esparza earned the win with 2 2/3 innings of relief, and Rafael Capistran recorded the save with a perfect ninth inning. Braxton finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Marcellus, Cameron Hill and Ashe also contributed key offensive moments.
In Game 2, Grambling State could not match Jackson State’s offensive pace in a 20-10 loss. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the first on Hill’s RBI single and a defensive miscue, but Jackson State responded with a six-run second inning and continued to add on.
Grambling State mounted a major rally in the sixth, scoring seven runs to cut the deficit from 11-3 to 11-10. Nicholas Jackson Jr. walked to start the inning, Braxton was hit by a pitch and Hasani Johnson drew a walk to load the bases. Martavius Thomas singled home two runs, Hill added a sacrifice fly, and Shannon Martin and Lopez each drove in runs. Braxton later worked a bases-loaded walk to cap the rally.
Jackson State answered with five runs in the seventh and added insurance in the eighth and ninth innings. Hill finished the nightcap with two RBI, Thomas drove in two off the bench and Lopez added a pair of runs batted in.
Across the doubleheader, Grambling State totaled 15 runs and received consistent production from Braxton, Hill, Ashe and Marcellus.
GSU hosts McNeese Tuesday.
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GSU Softball 8, Alcorn State 7 (Wednesday – Game 1)
ASU 9, GSU 2 (Wednesday – Game 2)
GSU 10, ASU 10 (Game Incomplete – Thursday)
Grambling State split a Southwestern Athletic Conference softball doubleheader against Alcorn State on Wednesday, rallying late for an 8-7 win in the opener before dropping the nightcap 9-2.
In game one, the Tigers used a four-run seventh inning to erase a three-run deficit and secure the comeback victory.
Grambling State took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning when Logan-Ray Gaspar tripled home Z’Natria Evans. Alcorn State answered in the bottom half of the inning to even the score.
The Tigers responded with three runs in the third. Cadashia Collins drove in a run before Evans delivered a two-run triple to push Grambling State ahead 4-1.
Alcorn State rallied to tie the game in the fourth inning and then took a 7-4 lead with a three-run sixth.
Grambling State answered in its final at-bat. Evans doubled in two runs to trim the deficit to 7-6, and Ziya Donaldson followed with an RBI single to tie the game. Gaspar then laid down a bunt single that brought home the go-ahead run for the 8-7 final.
Evans led the Tigers at the plate, going 3 for 4 with four RBIs. Gaspar added two hits and two RBIs.
Erin Gibbs earned the win in relief, allowing one earned run over three innings.
In game two, Alcorn State pulled away after a tied third inning to earn a split of the doubleheader.
Alcorn State scored twice in the second before Grambling State answered in the third. Ashunte Specks and Evans each delivered RBI singles to tie the game at 2-2.
The Braves quickly responded with three runs in the bottom of the third and added four more in the fifth to put the game away.
Grambling State finished with five hits in the loss. Specks and Evans each drove in a run, while Kamryn Broussard and Kamille Carter also recorded hits.
Gibbs took the loss in relief after allowing five runs.
