Louisiana Tech stayed hot this weekend and won two of three games at Middle Tennessee this weekend.
The Bulldogs have now won 14 of their last 19 games and are 23-13 overall and 8-3 in C-USA action.
Let's take a look at the weekend in its entirety.
Game 1 | Hawsey homers twice, bullpen dominant late in 5-4 win to open series at Middle Tennessee
WIN | Luke Cooley (5-2) LOSS | Colin Kerrigan (0-1) SAVE | Blake Hooks (6)
Louisiana Tech had won four in a row entering the contest on Friday night and were looking to keep the momentum going.
Trey Hawsey got the scoring going in the second inning with an opposite field solo home-run.
After MTSU took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning, Hawsey tied things back up with his second home-run of the evening. Yes, it was another opposite field shot.
With the score tied at 2 in the sixth inning, Louisiana Tech scored three runs to take a 5-2.
Eli Berch delivered a two-run double, and Thaxton Berch followed with a run-scoring double of his own.
In the bottom half of the frame, Kenny McKinley launched a 2-run home-run to left field to bring the Blue Raiders closer at 5-4.
From that point, Tech's bullpen took over.
Nate Crider, Logan Forsythe, and Blake Hooks combined to toss the final 3.1 innings and only allow 1 hit.
Hooks earned his 6th save of the season after getting the final 4 outs.
Luke Cooley, making his first Friday night start of the season, allowed four earned runs in 5.2 innings of work. The left-hander earned his 5th win of the season.
Game 2 | Bulldogs score 7 runs in the 9th to clinch series with 10-8 win over Blue Raiders
WIN | Blake Hooks (3-0) LOSS | Ollie Akens (2-2)
Looking to win the series on Saturday, Tech took a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a Garrison Berkley solo home-run and Will Safford 2-run double.
Brooks Roberson was on the mound and in complete control.
The right-hander didn't allow a run through his first five innings of work, but Brett Vondohlen did connect on his 14th dinger of the year in the sixth inning to get the Blue Raiders within 3-1.
With two outs in the seventh inning, the Blue Raiders had runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs and Hayden Miller at the plate. Miller launched a 3-run home-run to left field to give MTSU a 4-3 lead and end Roberson's day on the might.
The Lubbock native allowed 4 runs in 6.2 innings of work and received a no-decision.
Long way to go. Hang with me.
With Tech trailing 4-3 in the eight inning, the Blue Raiders sent nine hitters to the plate and scored four runs on five hits to take an 8-3 lead.
Trailing 8-3 in the top of the ninth inning, the 'Dogs had some fight left in 'em.
Trey Hawsey and Thaxton Berch both reached to start the frame due to a couple of errors on the Blue Raiders.
After an Eli Berch pop out, Will Safford walked to load the bases.
Colton Coates then trimmed the Tech deficit to 8-6 with a 2-run double to left centerfield. The third run scored on another error by MTSU.
Michael Ballard then walked and brought Sebastian Mexico to the plate.
Mexico launched a ball to outer space for a 3-run home-run to give the Bulldogs a 9-8 lead!!
Cade Patterson doubled later in the frame to score Zeb Ruddell and give Tech a 10-8 lead.
Blake Hooks needed only five pitches in the ninth inning to seal the victory for the Bulldogs.
Game 3 | Bulldogs struggle to manufacture runs, fall 4-3 in series finale at Middle Tennessee
WIN | Chandler Alderman (3-5) LOSS | Landon Fontenot (1-1)
Middle Tennessee jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the series finale on a 2-run double by Keaton Ray in the first inning.
Tech responded in the second inning when Eli Berch launched a 2-run home-run to right field to tie things at 2.
With the game tied at 3 in the sixth inning, Tyler Minnick hit a home-run to left field and give the Blue Raiders a 4-3 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
Chandler Alderman held Tech to only four hits in tossing a complete game on 130 pitches.
Up Next
Tech will travel to Monroe for a matchup at ULM on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6:00 PM on SportsTalk 97.7 FM/ESPN+.
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