Tuesday, March 12
Ruston, La.
6:00 PM
Louisiana Tech University
vs
Sam Houston State
LA Tech Opens Six-Game Homestand with Two vs. Sam Houston State
3/12/2019 9:02:00 AM | Baseball
RUSTON, La. – With the 2019 college baseball regular season just over a quarter of the way through, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will return home, hosting the Southland Conference reigning champion Sam Houston Bearkats in a pair of midweek games, scheduled for this Tuesday at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at 3 p.m. from J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
LA Tech (10-5) knocked off the #10 Arkansas Razorbacks last Saturday, but dropped the three-game series to last year's College World Series runner-ups.
Meanwhile, the Bearkats (10-3, 3-0 Southland) are coming off a three-game road sweep of Southland foe Houston Baptist last weekend. Sam Houston State is currently riding a four-game winning streak coming into Tuesday's contest.
Despite dropping the weekend series to the Razorbacks, Tech saw some impressive performances from a few key contributors. Senior first baseman Mason Mallard continued his hold on the team lead in batting average (.345). Center fielder Parker Bates hit .500 (5-for-10) over the weekend, extending his team-best hitting streak to 11 consecutive games, while Hunter Wells reached base at a .455 clip as the leadoff man.
Wells, who had to leave Sunday's game early due to injury, continued his streak of reaching base safely to 39 games, dating back to April 14, 2018 of last season.
A pair of relievers in redshirt freshman Jonathan Fincher and senior Braxton Smith held things down on the back end over the weekend. Neither pitcher allowed an earned run across 5.2 innings combined. Smith closed out Saturday's victory, pitching for the first time since Feb. 26. The right-hander was electric over his 2.2 innings, striking out six and allowed just one hit.
Meanwhile, Fincher made two relief appearances and did not allow a run, striking out five and walking none. The southpaw continues to lead the team in ERA this season, posting a 0.71 mark over his 12.2 innings pitched.
The Bulldogs are slated to send left-hander Kyle Griffen (2-2, 7.07 ERA, 14.0 IP, 7 K, 3 BB) to the mound in game one, making his second start of the season. The junior is tied for the team lead in appearances with nine so far this season.
Sam Houston State will go with right-hander Will Duncan (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.1 IP, 3 K, 2 BB), making his first start of the season.
Neither team has announced a starter for game two.
This will be just the 10th meeting between the Bulldogs and Bearkats, with Sam Houston owning a 6-3 lead through the first nine matchups. The last time these two teams met was during the 2007 season in Huntsville, where Sam Houston took a 2-1 series win. The last meeting in Ruston between the two was in February of 2005.
Both games will be streamed live on CUSA.tv and will be broadcast on KNBB 97.7 FM and through the LA Tech X Mobile App with Teddy Allen on the call for both contests.
LA Tech (10-5) knocked off the #10 Arkansas Razorbacks last Saturday, but dropped the three-game series to last year's College World Series runner-ups.
Meanwhile, the Bearkats (10-3, 3-0 Southland) are coming off a three-game road sweep of Southland foe Houston Baptist last weekend. Sam Houston State is currently riding a four-game winning streak coming into Tuesday's contest.
Despite dropping the weekend series to the Razorbacks, Tech saw some impressive performances from a few key contributors. Senior first baseman Mason Mallard continued his hold on the team lead in batting average (.345). Center fielder Parker Bates hit .500 (5-for-10) over the weekend, extending his team-best hitting streak to 11 consecutive games, while Hunter Wells reached base at a .455 clip as the leadoff man.
Wells, who had to leave Sunday's game early due to injury, continued his streak of reaching base safely to 39 games, dating back to April 14, 2018 of last season.
A pair of relievers in redshirt freshman Jonathan Fincher and senior Braxton Smith held things down on the back end over the weekend. Neither pitcher allowed an earned run across 5.2 innings combined. Smith closed out Saturday's victory, pitching for the first time since Feb. 26. The right-hander was electric over his 2.2 innings, striking out six and allowed just one hit.
Meanwhile, Fincher made two relief appearances and did not allow a run, striking out five and walking none. The southpaw continues to lead the team in ERA this season, posting a 0.71 mark over his 12.2 innings pitched.
The Bulldogs are slated to send left-hander Kyle Griffen (2-2, 7.07 ERA, 14.0 IP, 7 K, 3 BB) to the mound in game one, making his second start of the season. The junior is tied for the team lead in appearances with nine so far this season.
Sam Houston State will go with right-hander Will Duncan (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.1 IP, 3 K, 2 BB), making his first start of the season.
Neither team has announced a starter for game two.
This will be just the 10th meeting between the Bulldogs and Bearkats, with Sam Houston owning a 6-3 lead through the first nine matchups. The last time these two teams met was during the 2007 season in Huntsville, where Sam Houston took a 2-1 series win. The last meeting in Ruston between the two was in February of 2005.
Both games will be streamed live on CUSA.tv and will be broadcast on KNBB 97.7 FM and through the LA Tech X Mobile App with Teddy Allen on the call for both contests.
Players Mentioned
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