Final Stats

Box: LA Tech 12, ODU 0 (7)

RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech needed just seven innings to put up 12 runs on 14 hits as the Bulldogs clinched their third Conference USA series in a row with a 12-0 shutout victory over Old Dominion Sunday at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park in Ruston.

LA Tech moved back into a tie for fourth place with Marshall in the league standings following Sunday's series-clinching victory over Old Dominion. The Bulldogs are now 10 games over .500 with a 23-13 overall record and 10-8 mark in C-USA games.

Over the course of the weekend, LA Tech outscored the Monarchs, 25-8, in three games, while the Bulldogs' pitching staff held ODU hitters to a .236 average with 22 strikeouts at the plate. Defensively, LA Tech had a clean weekend with no errors and a 1.000 fielding percentage in the three games. The 12-run victory on Sunday marked the first time since 2011 that a Bulldog team has run-ruled an opponent at home, while the last time LA Tech has recorded three straight series wins in league play dates back to the 2007 season.

While the Bulldogs were putting up big numbers offensively, Casey Sutton was posting nothing but zeros on the mound for the third weekend in a row as the right-hander earned the win after pitching six shutout innings on Sunday. Sutton is now 5-0 on the season and has pitched 20 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to his relief appearance at WKU two weeks ago. He struck out four, did not walk a batter and allowed four hits by the Monarchs. Adam Atkins made his first appearance in two weeks as the senior came on in the seventh and struck out two to finish off the game.

"Casey Sutton throws strikes and makes you beat him," head coach Greg Goff said. "He continues to do a tremendous job for us on the mound. He buys in to what we're doing. I think a lot goes back to Coach [Christian] Ostrander and his preparation with these pitchers. From pitch calling to conditioning and all those things, you don't have guys go out there and do what our guys are doing without those things. We threw another great weekend and I can't say enough about Coach Ostrander and what he's doing with our pitching staff."

The Bulldogs wasted no time getting the bats going Sunday by putting up three runs in the first thanks to six base hits, including a lead-off triple by Sean Ullrich and RBI base knocks by Jonathan Washam, Chase Lunceford and Marshall Boggs.

LA Tech plated three more in the third on base hits by J.D. Perry and Brent Diaz before scoring one more in the fourth on an RBI single by Cody Daigle to put the Bulldogs ahead, 7-0, through four innings. Five more runs came home for LA Tech in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Jonathan Washam's second RBI double of the day, two wild pitches and a two-run triple by Marshall Boggs to put the league's 10-run rule into effect with the Bulldogs holding a 12-0 lead over the Monarchs through six.

"Every time our guys have their backs against a wall, they have always answered the bell," Goff said. "What a statement they made today. It was a pretty good statement beating a really good ball club like Old Dominion. I know our guys are going to show up and play every day. They play so hard and were ready to go into battle today. I am so grateful to have a group of guys who have bought in and are all pulling the same way."

With LA Tech ahead, 7-0, heading to the sixth, Boggs contributed to the shutout with a leaping catch against the wall in left field before he ended the half inning by gunning down a runner at the plate on a relay to Lunceford and Diaz.

Goff shook up the lineup in Sunday's finale and it paid off as the Bulldogs totaled 14 hits on the day with Ullrich responsible for three of them batting from the lead-off spot. The junior outfielder was 3-for-4 with a triple and three runs scored, while Jonathan Washam was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBI's and two runs scored. Boggs also totaled two hits in a 2-for-4 effort with a triple, three RBI's and a run. Perry and Daigle also posted two hits and an RBI each, while Chandler Hall was 1-for-1 with two walks, a hit by pitch and two runs scored. Lunceford also drove in a run, while Diaz was 1-for-3 with two RBI's against the Monarchs.

LA Tech closes out an eight-game home stand Tuesday when the Bulldogs host McNeese State at 6 p.m. at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park in Ruston in a game that was originally scheduled for earlier this season but was postponed due to weather. The Bulldogs will then hit the road to face the 25th-ranked Ragin' Cajuns Wednesday in Lafayette before taking on UTSA next weekend in a three-game C-USA road series in San Antonio.

For complete coverage of LA Tech Baseball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@LATechBSB), Instagram (@LATechBSB) and Facebook (/LATechBSB) or visit the official website at LATechSports.com.