Boxscore

RUSTON, La. ? After losing their first Western Athletic Conference game of the season, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs came back with late surge Saturday evening for a 13-5 win. Tech (13-7, 1-1 WAC) defeated Sacramento State (3-11, 1-1) with big innings in the sixth and seventh.

The spark for those big innings was sophomore Patrick Thomas. Coach Wade Simoneaux?s strategy worked well for his team with Thomas. Simoneaux brought Courtney Jones to the plate to pinch hit in the sixth with one out and the bases loaded. Sacramento State made a pitching change, and Simoneaux went to the bench to bring in Thomas for Jones.

?I had to have the right matchup there,? Simoneaux said of bringing the left-handed hitting Thomas to face a right-handed pitcher. ?Against a lefty, I know Courtney can put the ball in play, but when they put a righty in I didn?t hesitate to put Patrick in.?

Thomas took advantage of the opportunity with Tech trailing 3-1 at the time. He ripped a two-run double to tie the game, and Kevin Winn followed with a two-run single to take a 5-3 lead. The Bulldogs would never trail and not look back.

Tech scored six more runs in the seventh inning with five hits. Thomas drove in another run with a single, and Brian Rike hit a home run in his third consecutive game for two runs. Drew Bunting hit a two-run single, and Albie Goulder had an RBI-double. In the eighth, Tech added two more runs via Thomas? bat. A two-run single put the Bulldogs on top 15-3 for the final score.

With Bunting getting the start Saturday and Thomas shinning off the bench, Simoneaux said he has the difficult, yet fortunate, problem of having a deep bench that produces.

?When Thomas gets a chance to play, he?s going to swing it,? Simoneaux said. ?We have several guys on this team that should be in the lineup. Bunting and Courtney play the same position, and Adam Cobb is playing well at center.?

Thomas hit 3-for-3 with five RBIs and two runs to lead Tech. Bunting hit 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Rike hit 3-for-6 with three RBIs. Goulder led Tech with three runs scored. Tech hit Sacramento State pitching for 14 hits on the night.

Brandon Hudson (4-1) earned the win in relief for Tech, his second of the week. Hudson threw 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on five hits and had three strikeouts. Ryan Rupert started and threw 3.1 innings and gave up three runs on five hits.

Simoneaux said he was not surprised Hudson was able to shut down Sacramento State?s hitting when he came in. It is what Hudson has done in the past and will keep on doing for the Bulldogs as a relief pitching and designated hitter.

?Hudson?s a competitor,? Simoneaux said. ?He wants the ball and he wants to bat, and I?ll let him keep doing both.?

Tech and Sacramento State play the series for finale in a rubber match at 1 p.m. Sunday at J.C. Love Field. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM. Fans outside of the North Louisiana listening area can also hear the game on the station?s Web site www.espn977.com.