#6 Louisiana Tech defeated #3 Charlotte 13-8 in a big-time statement win to open the C-USA Tournament. The Bulldogs advance to the second round of the tournament where they will face #7 Middle Tennessee.
ROUND ONE | Diamond Dogs blast 5 homers to defeat Charlotte in Round One.
WIN | Reed Smith (4-4) LOSS | AJ Wilson (0-2)
On an early morning game in Houston, Texas, the Bulldogs came ready and prepared to play from the opening inning.
Houston native Philip Matulia fittingly opened the 2023 Tournament with a bomb to show that the Diamond Dogs were prepared to battle and fight to advance. Walker Burchfield, Tech’s senior DH, followed suit and blasted a ball over the wall to give the team from Ruston a 2-0 lead in the 1st.
After Cam Fisher came back with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs answered right back with an Adarius Myers solo home run over the left field wall, and yet another two-run blast from Dalton Davis to give Tech an early 5-2 lead over the 49ers.
Charlotte added an RBI single in the 2nd, and the score remained at 5-3 heading into the 4th. Louisiana Tech added three more runs in the inning when Kyle Hasler drilled an RBI single, and Davis blasted another two-run homer to extend the lead to 8-3. The Bulldogs’ offense also knocked out starting pitcher and all-conference selection Wyatt Hudepohl after only pitching 3.0 innings.
The 4th and 5th innings are where Charlotte mounted their comeback against Tech. The 49ers opened up the 4th with a solo run and proceeded to break the game open in the 5th. Charlotte hit a 2-RBI single, an RBI single to left field, and a sacrifice fly to eliminate the Bulldogs’ lead and tie the game at 8. The 49ers were also able to eliminate Fincher from the mound in the 5th inning.
In a brand-new ballgame in the 7th, the Diamond Dogs took advantage of a couple of errors and retake the lead. Hasler reached 1st on a fielder’s choice to score Brody Drost, and Myers advanced to 3rd before scoring on an error to give Tech a 10-8 lead.
The Bulldogs kept the momentum flowing on a Will Safford RBI single to score in Logan McLeod, and Matulia popped up a sacrifice fly to score Hasler and complete the crucial four-run inning for the Bulldogs.
Charlotte threatened in the 7th and 8th innings with runners in scoring position, but Landon Tomkins remained steady and kept the 49ers off the scoreboard.
In the bottom of the 9th, Ethan Bates hit a deep sacrifice fly to score in Hasler and give the Diamond Dogs a 13-8 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
Bates took the mound in the bottom of the 9th and started off shaky, before settling in and ending any chance of a Charlotte rally, giving Louisiana Tech a 13-8 first-round victory to advance to the next round.
Myers and Safford were consistently reliable for the Bulldogs’ offense, both finishing the game with three hits apiece.
Davis continues to put up video-game numbers, especially in his last eight games, where he is batting .385 with 15 hits, 20 RBIs, 15 runs scored, 9 home runs, and has been walked 5 times.
Senior starter Jonathan Fincher lasted 4.0 innings for the Bulldogs, walking zero batters, throwing 5 strikeouts, and allowing 7 earned runs, mostly coming from the 5th inning.
Caden Copeland relived Fincher, lasting 1.2 innings, walking two batters, throwing one strikeout, and allowing one earned run. Reed Smith replaced Copeland to successfully get the final out of the inning and was able to earn the win.
Tomkins took the mound in the critical 7th and 8th innings, lasting 2.0 innings, walking zero batters, throwing 3 strikeouts, and allowing no earned runs. Bates came in to close in the final inning, lasting 1.0 innings, walking one batter, throwing one strikeout, and allowing no earned runs.
Up Next
#6 Louisiana Tech advanced to the 2nd round of the C-USA Tournament to face #7 Middle Tennessee on Thursday. After being swept by UTSA in the regular season, the Blue Raiders upset the #2 Roadrunners 5-1 in Wednesday’s second game of the day. The Bulldogs and Blue Raiders faced off in Murfreesboro earlier this season where Tech was able to come out with a series win.
Thursday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be listened to on Sportstalk 97.7 FM.
First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 pm on Thursday. With a win, the Bulldogs will play on Saturday at 9 am, with a loss they will play on Friday at 2 pm in an elimination game.
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