Wednesday, February 20
Ruston, La.
6:00 PM
Louisiana Tech University
vs
UL-Lafayette
Bulldogs Set for Home Opener vs. UL-Lafayette
2/19/2019 4:41:00 PM | Baseball
RUSTON, La. – On the heels of an impressive three-game road sweep of Southeastern Louisiana, the Louisiana Tech baseball team will turn its attention to yet another non-conference in-state foe, hosting the UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns on Wednesday at 6 p.m. from J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
LA Tech (3-0) will look to extend its undefeated 2019 record as well as its current winning streak in home openers dating back to 2015 (5-0 since then).
In 2016, the Bulldogs opened the season against then No. 6 UL-Lafayette and came away with a 6-2 victory. The Bulldogs and Cajuns split last year's meetings with both teams winning on the road (Tech won 15-2 in Lafayette, ULL won 9-4 in Ruston).
The Bulldogs will call on redshirt senior right-hander Matt Miller to start Wednesday's contest. Miller made it through just 1.2 innings in his last start on Friday, allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits. The senior pitched 79.1 innings and struck out 75 batters (10th-most in C-USA in 2018) as Tech's primary Friday-night starter last year.
Meanwhile, the Ragin' Cajuns (1-2) will send out RHP Jacob Schultz. The sophomore from Oklahoma City has made one relief appearance this season, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief against Texas on Feb. 16. The transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M made nine starts last season, posting a 6.47 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched.
LA Tech opened the 2019 season with a resounding 3-0 weekend sweep over in-state foe Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulldogs put up 40 runs across the three game-set, the most a Tech team has scored in a series since the opening series of the 2017 season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (40).
The Bulldogs' sweep over the Lions marked the first time that Southeastern had been swept in a three-game home series since the 2010 season (Northwestern State). The 40 runs scored by Tech in the opening three-game set marked the first time that Southeastern has ever given up 40 or more runs in a series since it joined Division I back in 1981.
Tech takes on a Ragin' Cajuns squad that dropped two of three to No. 23 Texas last weekend. ULL's two losses came by a combined three runs (3-1 in 10 and 6-5) before the Cajuns avoided the opening-weekend sweep with an 8-6 triumph in Sunday's finale.
The Bulldogs rank among some of the nation's top offenses after one week of play, coming in at ninth in batting average (.364), sixth in scoring (13.3 runs per game) and eighth in base hits (43).
While the 'Dogs starters struggled throughout opening weekend, some bullpen pieces stepped up and provided some solid quality necessary relief. Tyler Follis (1-0), Jonathan Fincher (1 save), Quinton Logan (1-0), Braxton Smith (1 save), Kyle Griffen (1-0) combined for 19 innings of relief, allowing just three combined earned runs, while striking out 21 and walking just four.
Wednesday's contest will be streamed live on CUSA.tv (subscription required). Fans can listen to the game through the LA Tech Sports Radio Network through the TuneIn App or on KNBB 97.7 FM with Hall-of-Famer Dave Nitz back on the call. Live stats can be found at latechsports.com/sidearmstats/baseball.
LA Tech (3-0) will look to extend its undefeated 2019 record as well as its current winning streak in home openers dating back to 2015 (5-0 since then).
In 2016, the Bulldogs opened the season against then No. 6 UL-Lafayette and came away with a 6-2 victory. The Bulldogs and Cajuns split last year's meetings with both teams winning on the road (Tech won 15-2 in Lafayette, ULL won 9-4 in Ruston).
The Bulldogs will call on redshirt senior right-hander Matt Miller to start Wednesday's contest. Miller made it through just 1.2 innings in his last start on Friday, allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits. The senior pitched 79.1 innings and struck out 75 batters (10th-most in C-USA in 2018) as Tech's primary Friday-night starter last year.
Meanwhile, the Ragin' Cajuns (1-2) will send out RHP Jacob Schultz. The sophomore from Oklahoma City has made one relief appearance this season, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief against Texas on Feb. 16. The transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M made nine starts last season, posting a 6.47 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched.
LA Tech opened the 2019 season with a resounding 3-0 weekend sweep over in-state foe Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulldogs put up 40 runs across the three game-set, the most a Tech team has scored in a series since the opening series of the 2017 season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (40).
The Bulldogs' sweep over the Lions marked the first time that Southeastern had been swept in a three-game home series since the 2010 season (Northwestern State). The 40 runs scored by Tech in the opening three-game set marked the first time that Southeastern has ever given up 40 or more runs in a series since it joined Division I back in 1981.
Tech takes on a Ragin' Cajuns squad that dropped two of three to No. 23 Texas last weekend. ULL's two losses came by a combined three runs (3-1 in 10 and 6-5) before the Cajuns avoided the opening-weekend sweep with an 8-6 triumph in Sunday's finale.
The Bulldogs rank among some of the nation's top offenses after one week of play, coming in at ninth in batting average (.364), sixth in scoring (13.3 runs per game) and eighth in base hits (43).
While the 'Dogs starters struggled throughout opening weekend, some bullpen pieces stepped up and provided some solid quality necessary relief. Tyler Follis (1-0), Jonathan Fincher (1 save), Quinton Logan (1-0), Braxton Smith (1 save), Kyle Griffen (1-0) combined for 19 innings of relief, allowing just three combined earned runs, while striking out 21 and walking just four.
Wednesday's contest will be streamed live on CUSA.tv (subscription required). Fans can listen to the game through the LA Tech Sports Radio Network through the TuneIn App or on KNBB 97.7 FM with Hall-of-Famer Dave Nitz back on the call. Live stats can be found at latechsports.com/sidearmstats/baseball.
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