Wednesday, April 3
Ruston, La.
6:00 PM
Louisiana Tech University
vs
McNeese State
Diamond Dogs Set to Host McNeese State
4/2/2019 4:53:00 PM | Baseball
RUSTON, La. – On the heels of a successful close to the month of March, the Louisiana Tech baseball team will look to keep its momentum rolling this week, hosting another in-state foe in the McNeese State Cowboys on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. from J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
LA Tech (17-10, 5-4 C-USA) began its conference season with a tough weekend sweep to Southern Miss, but since then, the Bulldogs have rattled off wins in six of their last eight contests, including a pair of league series triumphs drawing back into the hunt in the Conference USA standings, currently sitting in fifth place.
Meanwhile, McNeese (15-13, 3-6 SLC) enters the midweek showdown having lost six of its last 10, but did knock off No. 12 LSU, 2-0, on the road last Tuesday.
All time, the Bulldogs own a 91-53 edge in the overall meetings between the two clubs. Tech won both matchups last season and has won six of the last 10 meetings.
Tech first baseman, Mason Mallard will lead the offensive charge for the Bulldogs, after being named the LSWA Hitter of the Week for his performance over Tech's last four games. The Whitehouse, Texas, native hit safely in all four of Tech's contests last week, and led the team with an 8-for-16 (.500) output at the plate. Mallard also drove in a run in all four games, as Tech went 3-1, including a conference sweep of UAB. On Saturday against the Blazers, the senior tied his career high with a 4-for-5 day at the plate, including a double, run scored and an RBI.
Mallard leads the Bulldogs in batting average (.394 - first in Conference USA), slugging percentage (.587), on-base percentage (.484 - second in C-USA) and stolen bases (10 - fourth in C-USA). He also ranks first on the team in multiple-hit games (14) and owns the team's longest reached-base streak of 29 games, dating back to last season.
Tech will send left-hander David Leal to the bump, making his first start of the 2019 season, since returning from foot surgery. The left-hander made his season debut in relief against the Blazers on Sunday, retiring the side in order and picking up the save, preserving Tech's 5-2 victory.
Last season, Leal, a second-team all-conference member, led the Bulldogs with a 2.27 ERA (fourth-best in C-USA) and also led the team with 87.1 innings pitched. His strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.23 (81 K & 13 BB) ranked second in the league and 22nd among national leaders.
McNeese will send freshman RHP Brett Payne (1-0, 3.38 ERA, 13.1 IP, 15 K) to the bump in his third start of the season. Last week, Payne shut down No. 12 LSU on the road, tossing 6.0 shutout innings, while allowing just two hits and striking out five.
Be sure to stay plugged into LATechSports.com and follow @LATechBSB on Twitter for all breaking news, in-game updates and other items of interest regarding the 2019 Diamond Dogs.
LA Tech (17-10, 5-4 C-USA) began its conference season with a tough weekend sweep to Southern Miss, but since then, the Bulldogs have rattled off wins in six of their last eight contests, including a pair of league series triumphs drawing back into the hunt in the Conference USA standings, currently sitting in fifth place.
Meanwhile, McNeese (15-13, 3-6 SLC) enters the midweek showdown having lost six of its last 10, but did knock off No. 12 LSU, 2-0, on the road last Tuesday.
All time, the Bulldogs own a 91-53 edge in the overall meetings between the two clubs. Tech won both matchups last season and has won six of the last 10 meetings.
Tech first baseman, Mason Mallard will lead the offensive charge for the Bulldogs, after being named the LSWA Hitter of the Week for his performance over Tech's last four games. The Whitehouse, Texas, native hit safely in all four of Tech's contests last week, and led the team with an 8-for-16 (.500) output at the plate. Mallard also drove in a run in all four games, as Tech went 3-1, including a conference sweep of UAB. On Saturday against the Blazers, the senior tied his career high with a 4-for-5 day at the plate, including a double, run scored and an RBI.
Mallard leads the Bulldogs in batting average (.394 - first in Conference USA), slugging percentage (.587), on-base percentage (.484 - second in C-USA) and stolen bases (10 - fourth in C-USA). He also ranks first on the team in multiple-hit games (14) and owns the team's longest reached-base streak of 29 games, dating back to last season.
Tech will send left-hander David Leal to the bump, making his first start of the 2019 season, since returning from foot surgery. The left-hander made his season debut in relief against the Blazers on Sunday, retiring the side in order and picking up the save, preserving Tech's 5-2 victory.
Last season, Leal, a second-team all-conference member, led the Bulldogs with a 2.27 ERA (fourth-best in C-USA) and also led the team with 87.1 innings pitched. His strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.23 (81 K & 13 BB) ranked second in the league and 22nd among national leaders.
McNeese will send freshman RHP Brett Payne (1-0, 3.38 ERA, 13.1 IP, 15 K) to the bump in his third start of the season. Last week, Payne shut down No. 12 LSU on the road, tossing 6.0 shutout innings, while allowing just two hits and striking out five.
Be sure to stay plugged into LATechSports.com and follow @LATechBSB on Twitter for all breaking news, in-game updates and other items of interest regarding the 2019 Diamond Dogs.
Players Mentioned
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