Louisiana Tech (34-23) dropped a 6-4 decision in 12 innings to Marshall (29-26) in the first round of the Conference USA tournament Wednesday.
Miller Struggles Early
Matt Miller got the start on the mound for Tech and didn’t have his best stuff. The right-hander allowed 3 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs in 1.1 innings of work.
Bullpen Give Tech a Chance to Win
With Miller exiting early due to ineffectiveness, Lane Burroughs had to lean on his bullpen.
Tyler Follis, Logan Bailey, Kyle Griffen, Jonathan Fincher, and Braxton Smith combined to pitch the final 10.1 innings and performed admirably.
Follis tossed four shutout innings while striking out four, his best outing of the season.
Although Braxton Smith took the loss in relief, the right-hander pitched a season-high four innings and allowed two unearned runs.
Defense Struggles in Major Way
Faulty defense was responsible for four of the six runs that Marshall scored in the game. In total, Tech committed a season-high five errors.
Entering the tournament, Tech had committed just 1 error in its last 71 innings of play.
Marshall got its first run of the game on an error by Mason Mallard at first base when he was unable to handle a routine ground ball that would have ended the inning.
Tanner Huddleston committed his first of two errors in the contest in the sixth inning to allow Shane Hannon to reach. Elvis Peralta would follow with a double to give the Thundering Herd a 4-1 lead.
With the game tied at four in the 12th inning, Taylor Young booted a ground ball to start the inning. Later in the frame, Hannon would deliver a two-run single to make it 6-4 Marshall.
Offense Unable to Deliver
In 12 innings of play, Tech was only able to collect six hits. While Marshall gifted Tech nine walks and two hit by pitches, the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize and left nine men on base.
Tech left runners in scoring position with a chance to win the game in the 9th, 10th, and 11th innings.
Hunter Wells and Mason Robinson each collected two hits and an RBI in the defeat.
Season on the Line
Tech will have its season on the line tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. when they will play the loser of Southern Miss (34-19) and Rice (24-31). The game can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on Sportstalk 97.7 FM.
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