Louisiana Tech (14-10, 2-4) will host UAB (12-14, 1-5) in a crucial Conference USA series this weekend beginning Friday night.

Series Info:

Game Times: Friday 6 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m.

Where: J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park

TV: CUSA.tv (subscription required)

Radio: KNBB 97.7FM

Tech’s Starting Pitchers:

Friday: RHP Matt Miller (2-0, 4.50 ERA, 30 IP, 27 hits allowed, 13 BB, and 34 K)

Saturday: LHP Logan Robbins (2-2, 7.96 ERA, 26 IP, 36 hits allowed, 12 BB, and 27 K)

Sunday: LHP Logan Bailey (2-3, 8.48 ERA, 28.2 IP, 45 hits allowed, 13 BB, and 31 K)

Home Woes:

After going 18-9 at home in 2018, Louisiana Tech is only 7-7 at home in 2019 to this point. In fact, Lane Burroughs’ squad has lost five of their last seven at home dating back to March 5th. With 14 home games remaining and at-large chances of a NCAA regional berth looking slim, Tech needs to start playing much better inside the friendly confines of J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.

Scouting the Blazers:

UAB is led by head coach, Brian Shoop. Shoop is in his 13th season as the HC at UAB and is 340-370 over the course of his tenure. The Blazers are 12-14 through the first 26 games of 2019. While Tech has certainly not played its best baseball at home, UAB has had its share of struggles on the road. The Blazers enter this weekend with a 1-8 road record.

Pitching Probables:

Friday: RHP Graham Ashcraft (1-2, 3.54 ERA, 28 IP, 26 hits allowed, 18 BB, and 34 K)

Saturday: RHP Tanner Rusk (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 30 IP, 26 hits allowed, 13 BB, and 25 K)

Sunday: RHP Tyler Gates (2-0, 4.18 ERA, 23.2 IP, 29 hits allowed, 7 BB, and 17 K)

Key Relievers:

RHP Ryan Wesson (1-1, 5.94 ERA, 16.2 IP, 17 hits allowed, 10 BB, and 18 K)

RHP Tanner Graham (2-2, 6.00 ERA, 21 IP, 20 hits allowed, 7 BB, and 11 K)

Schultz Shining:

Colton Schultz entered 2019 with 81 career starts under his belt for the Blazers. In 2018, the left-handed hitting outfielder hit .262 with 1 home run and 16 RBI in 52 games. Nothing special. Fast forward to 2019 and Schultz has really come into his own. Schultz, now a junior, is hitting in the middle of UAB’s lineup and is hitting well. He is batting .337 with 4 home runs and 29 RBI through his first 26 games. Schultz has played a key role in UAB’s potent lineup that is averaging over six runs per game.

Statistical Comparison (Tech | UAB):

Batting Average: .284 | .277

Slugging Percentage: .437 | .405

On-Base Percentage: .371 | .380

Home Runs: 24 | 15

Runs per Game: 7.1 | 6.6

ERA: 5.14 | 5.56

WHIP: 1.50 | 1.58

Strikeout to Walk Ratio: 2.34 | 1.92

Fielding Percentage: .970 | .972

SB per Game: 1.2 | 2.5

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