Louisiana Tech (5-2) ran into a tough Troy (7-1) squad this weekend and dropped two of three games to the Trojans.
Let's take a look at how it happened.
Thomas Holds Tech Bats in Check, Trojans Defeat Bulldogs 4-0
Louisiana Tech came into the match-up against Troy feeling pretty good.
The Bulldogs were averaging over 5 runs per game, while also pitching extremely well with a 1.25 team era.
On this night, none of it mattered. Levi Thomas was dominant on the mound for Troy. The right-hander did not allow a hit over 6 innings of work, while striking out 11.
The Trojans bullpen was pretty good behind Thomas as Ryan Fultz and Lance Thomas allowed only 1 hit over the final 3 innings.
On the night, Tech managed just 1 hit, a Cole McConnell single in the 7th inning.
Although he received the loss, Jonathan Fincher pitched well. The sophomore left-hander struck out a career-high 10 in 6 innings of work, while allowing only 2 runs (1 earned).
Bulldogs Jump Out to Early Lead but Troy Fights Back for 7-4 Win to Clinch Series
Looking to even the series, the Tech bats got going in the third inning when Taylor Young delivered an RBI double to left-centerfield to give Tech a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later, Parker Bates launched a 3-run home run to right field to put the Bulldogs up 4-0.
However, the Trojans pitching staff would manage to shut down the Tech offense for the remainder 6 innings of the contest, which allowed its offense to get back into the game.
Troy would score 2 runs in the 5th, 3 in the 6th, and 2 more in the 7th on its way to the 7-4 victory.
In the defeat, 2 Tech errors allowed for 4 unearned runs to score and were ultimately too much to overcome.
Kyle Crigger received the loss for Tech after allowing 3 runs (1 earned) in 0.2 innings of work.
Offensively, Bates delivered 2 hits, including the 3-run home in the third inning.
Whorff Dominant, Bats Come Alive as Tech Shuts out Troy 9-0
Louisiana Tech got plenty of offense and a dominant pitching performance from Jarret Whorff to salvage game three of the series against Troy Sunday afternoon.
Kyle Hasler and Parker Bates were the offensive stars for the Bulldogs.
The true freshman Hasler opened the scoring in the second inning with a 2-run home run to left field to give Tech a 2-0 lead. The home-run was the first of Hasler's career.
Bates followed one inning later with a massive two-run shot to right field to stretch the Tech lead out to 4-0.
A Bates single in the 7th would score Alex Ray and give Tech a 5-0 cushion.
Hasler delivered a two-run double in the 8th to put the game out of reach at 7-0 Bulldogs.
Tech would get two additional runs in the 9th on a Hunter Wells two-run triple to make it 9-0.
For the afternoon, Hasler and Bates combined to go 4/8 at the plate with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.
Wells also added 3 hits of his own, as did shortstop Alex Ray.
After winning Conference USA Pitcher of the Week last week, Jarret Whorff followed up that performance with a 3-hit shutout on the mound for Tech.
The junior right-hander needed only 100 pitches to complete the shutout. Whorff has yet to allow a run in 15.1 innings of work in 2020.
Tech will be back in action Wednesday night at LSU. First pitch is set for 6 pm on SEC Network +.
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