Louisiana Tech (23-10, 9-3) handled its business and swept Rice (9-24, 3-9) in a 3-game Conference USA series at J.C. Love Field this weekend.
Let's take a look at how it happened.
Game 1 | Corona 2-run HR in 8th inning to propel Bulldogs to 5-3 win
WIN | Kyle Crigger (3-0) LOSS | Brandon Deskins (1-5)
Walker Burchfield launched a 3-run HR in the first inning on Friday night to get the weekend off to a great start.
Cade Gibson settled in and fired 6 shutout innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters on the mound for the Bulldogs. The left-hander would not factor into the decision.
Greg Martinez entered the game in relief of Gibson in the 7th inning and ran into trouble.
All three hitters that Martinez would face would reach base and come around to score to tie the game at 3.
With the game tied at 3 in the bottom half of the 8th inning, Jorge Corona hit a 2-run HR to right field to give Tech a 5-3 lead.
Kyle Crigger entered in relief of Martinez in the 7th and would earn his 3rd win of the season after firing 3 shutout innings.
Game 2 | Jennings spectacular on the mound as Tech earns 9-3 win to claim the series
WIN | Ryan Jennings (2-1) LOSS | Garret Zaskoda (0-1)
With a series victory at its fingertips, Louisiana Tech turned to Ryan Jennings on the mound Saturday afternoon.
Jennings was making his first start since March 19th. The right-hander was SPECTACULAR as he struck out 14 hitters over 7 innings of work to earn his 2nd win of the season.
Trailing 3-0 in the 5th inning, Tech's offense would come to life and score 9 runs over the next 4 frames against Rice pitching.
Steele Netterville and Adarius Myers would both homer in Tech's 4-run 5th inning.
Walker Burchfield delivered a 2-run 2B in the 7th inning to stretch Tech's lead to 7-3 and essentially put the game away.
Taylor Young, Steele Netterville, Cole McConnell, Walker Burchfield, and Jorge Corona all had multiple hits in the game for the Bulldogs.
Game 3 | Fincher, Whorff and Crigger team-up to lead 'Dogs to 3-1 win over Rice
WIN | Jonathan Fincher (6-1) LOSS | Thomas Burbank (1-4) SAVE | Kyle Crigger (6)
With the wind howling in on Sunday afternoon, there was no doubt that it would be a low-scoring contest as the Bulldogs went for the sweep against Rice.
Tech scored 2 runs in the first inning on RBI hits from Cole McConnell and Walker Burchfield.
Steele Netterville would connect on his 8th HR of the season in the 3rd inning to give Tech a 3-0 lead.
That's all the run support that Jonathan Fincher would need.
The left-hander didn't allow a run in 6 innings of work and earned his team-leading 6th win of the season.
Jarret Whorff was fantastic in relief. The right-hander did not allow a hit in his 2 innings of work and struck out 3.
Kyle Crigger shut the door in the 9th inning for his 6th save of the season. Best closer in the country.
Up Next
Louisiana Tech will host Northwestern State on Tuesday night.
First pitch is set for 6 PM at the Love Shack.
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