Louisiana Tech (20-21, 9-9) was swept by #18 Dallas Baptist on the road this past weekend. The Bulldogs will remain on the road this week starting on Wednesday with another matchup against Southern Miss and followed by a C-USA series at Middle Tennessee.
GAME ONE | Bulldogs lose first C-USA opener to Patriots 9-1.
WIN | Ryan Johnson (5-2) LOSS | Jonathan Fincher (6-3)
Senior LHP Jonathan Fincher suffered his first C-USA loss this season, lasting 7.0 innings, throwing 4 strikeouts, but allowing 7 earned runs.
Nick Fraginals came in for Fincher, throwing for 1.0 innings, 1 strikeout, and allowing 2 earned runs.
Trailing 3-0 in the 5th, Philip Matulia and Ethan Bates singled to get things going in the inning. Adarius Myers stepped up with a hit to score Matulia before the Patriots tamed the Bulldogs for the rest of the inning, making the score 3-1.
Dallas Baptist would respond in the bottom of the inning with their second two-run homer of the day followed by another solo homer to end the inning with a 6-1 lead.
After Fincher exited, Fraginals allowed two more runs in the 8th on a few hits and a couple of walks. The Patriots kept the Bulldogs off of the scoreboard in the 9th and defeated the Diamond Dogs 9-1.
Louisiana Tech finished the game with 8 hits led by Dalton Davis and Brody Drost with two hits apiece.
GAME TWO | Diamond Dogs limited to 2 hits, fall 11-3 to DBU.
WIN | Greg Martinez (0-3) LOSS | Braxton Bragg (5-1)
RHP Greg Martinez got the start for the Bulldogs in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, lasting 4.0 innings, throwing 3 strikeouts, and allowing 6 earned runs.
In the top of the 4th, trailing 2-0, Brody Drost drilled Tech’s first hit of the game followed by walks by Jorge Corona and Ethan Bates.
Adarius Myers took advantage of the situation with a hit and an error from DBU to score in Drost and Corona to even the game at 2-2.
The bottom of the inning would be detrimental for the Bulldogs, allowing a couple of walks and a hit before a couple of doubles would eventually result in 4 more runs for the Patriots.
Lane Burroughs got ejected from the game in the 4th inning after arguing over a questionable pitch clock violation.
Dallas Baptist added one run in each of the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings and added two more runs in the 8th inning. Tech would add one more run in the top of the and finished the game with only two hits, coming from Drost and Myers.
GAME THREE | Bulldogs start strong but lose the series finale 10-5.
WIN | Brady Rose (6-0) LOSS | Alec Sparks (3-2)
The Diamond Dogs came out swinging early in the second game of the doubleheader, beginning with a leadoff double from Dalton Davis.
After a hit from Logan McLeod, Brody Drost hit a sac fly to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the series, a 1-0 advantage.
Jorge Corona was walked, Philip Matulia got on base with a fielder’s choice, and Ethan Bates took advantage with a hit past first base to score two runs for Tech and a 3-0 lead.
DBU added one run in the bottom of the 1st and added three more runs in the bottom of the 2nd to take a 4-3 lead over Tech.
In the 5th, the Patriots added two more runs because of a couple of errors, a double, and a single. Fast forward to the 6th, DBU put up three more runs on another error and two more hits to stretch the lead to 9-3.
Louisiana Tech scored for the first time since the 1st inning in the 7th on an error, a few walks, and a sacrifice fly from Bates to cut the score to 9-5.
DBU answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the 7th and kept Tech off the scoreboard for the rest of the game resulting in a 10-5 loss for the Bulldogs.
Starting pitcher Alec Sparks lasted 1.0 innings, threw one strikeout, and allowed 4 runs. Ryan Harland lasted 3.0 innings, threw 2 strikeouts, and allowed 1 earned run.
Landon Tomkins was solid, lasting 3.0 innings, throwing 4 strikeouts, and allowing one earned run. Ethan Bates finished things off, lasting 1.0 innings, throwing 2 strikeouts, and allowing 0 earned runs.
C-USA Standings
1) DBU (15-3)
2) UTSA (14-3)
3) Charlotte (12-5)
4) MTSU (10-8)
5) LA Tech (9-9)
Up Next
Louisiana Tech travels to Hattiesburg to face Southern Miss (23-15, 11-7) in a one-game matchup on Wednesday night.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be listened to on Sportstalk 97.7 FM.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 pm on Wednesday night.
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