Louisiana Tech’s softball team secured a 4-1 victory over Southern Miss on Sunday, improving their season record to 12-3. The win at home clinched both the weekend and season series against the Golden Eagles, with LA Tech now holding a 3-1 advantage in head-to-head matchups this year.
Pitcher Allie Floyd delivered her second complete game in four days, allowing just one unearned run on three hits across seven innings. She struck out seven batters and walked two. “The story of the game was Allie [Floyd]. She pitched really well…really, really well. No earned runs and just pretty much dominated. She got a lot of leadoff hitters out today and kept them off base pretty much the entire day,” said head coach Josh Taylor.
Freshman Bradi Gallaway led LA Tech offensively with two hits and two RBI. Elena Heng also contributed two hits and drove in one run. Additional offensive support came from Reese Torres, Allie Furr, and Gracie Flores, each recording a hit.
Southern Miss opened the game with a bunt single but failed to score after a double play ended the first inning. Both teams were retired in order during the second inning, with Floyd striking out all three USM batters.
LA Tech took an early lead in the third when Heng scored on Gallaway’s single to left field. Southern Miss tied it at 1-1 in the fifth after capitalizing on a fielding error by LA Tech, but Gallaway restored the Bulldogs’ lead with an RBI double in the bottom half of that inning.
The Bulldogs added insurance runs in the sixth inning through consecutive hits by Torres, Furr, and Heng to establish a 4-1 margin that held for the remainder of the contest.
Reflecting on his team’s performance, Coach Taylor stated: “We were able to get some timely hits. We talk about it all the time…that championship formula is great pitching, great defense and timely hitting, and we got most of that today.” He also praised Cali Bennett’s defensive play late in the game: “That play by [Cali] Bennett in the seventh down the line, that is a tough play…She went in there and made a really nice place.”
Taylor discussed moving Gallaway into the leadoff spot: “She is competitive in every at bat. She understands the strike zone and she understands how to use her barrel…Two two-out RBI, it definitely is the difference in the game.”
Floyd credited her teammates for their support: “The biggest thing first is just giving the glory to God and him allowing me to pitch seven innings…I think the biggest thing was just my defense and knowing that I can trust them.”
With this result, LA Tech moves to 39-19 all-time against Southern Miss and improves its record against Sun Belt teams this season to 5-1. Head coach Josh Taylor now holds a career record of 147-94 at LA Tech. Gallaway notched her seventh multi-hit game of 2026 while Heng recorded her sixth; Floyd matched her season-high with seven strikeouts—her thirtieth career outing with five or more strikeouts—and Bulldog hitters struck out only once during Sunday’s contest.
Next up for Louisiana Tech are games against Stephen F. Austin (3:30 p.m.) and Central Arkansas (6 p.m.) on Friday as part of their Bulldog Classic tournament; both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
