Friday, April 30
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6 p.m.
Louisiana Tech University
at
Middle Tennessee
Photo by: Emerald McIntyre
No. 16 LA Tech Travels to Middle Tennessee for Weekend Series
4/29/2021 7:05:00 PM | Baseball
RUSTON, La. – No. 16 Louisiana Tech will begin its longest road trip of the 2021 season, opening a stretch of nine straight games away from J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park with a four-game series at Middle Tennessee this weekend in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Friday-Sunday's series will mark the sixth of eight four-game conference series in 2021. All Conference USA series this season will consist of four games, one nine-inning game on Friday, two seven-inning games on Saturday and one final nine-inning game on Sunday.
Game times for the conference series at Middle Tennessee's Reese Smith Jr. Field are 6 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Saturday's first contest of the doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. with the second game being played around 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one. All four games will stream live on CUSA.tv.
Series Information
Game Times (Friday-Sunday): 6 p.m. | 1 p.m. & then Game 2 | 1 p.m.
Location: Reese Smith Jr. Field (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
Live Video Stream: CUSA.tv
Radio/Streamed Radio Broadcast: KNBB 97.7 FM (Friday-Sunday) | latechsports.com (Friday-Sunday)
Projected Starting Pitchers (Friday-Sunday)
LA Tech: Jonathan Fincher (LHP), Ryan Jennings (RHP), Cade Gibson (LHP), Jarret Whorff (RHP)
Fincher: 6-0, 1.79 ERA, 65.1 IP, 59 K, 15 BB
Jennings (1): 3-3, 5.01 ERA, 50.1 IP, 50 K, 14 BB
Gibson (2): 3-3, 5.56 ERA, 43.2 IP, 41 K, 12 BB
Whorff: 7-1, 3.26 ERA, 60.2 IP, 52 K, 21 BB
Middle Tennessee: TBA
TBA:
TBA:
TBA:
TBA:
About the No. 16 Diamond Dogs:
After splitting a Conference USA series against Marshall over the weekend, the Bulldogs dropped two spots in D1Baseball's Top 25. LA Tech ranks inside the top 25 in four polls – D1Baseball (16), Baseball America (18), USA Today Sports Coaches Poll (18), NCBWA (18).
No. 16 LA Tech won the first two games of this past weekend's series against the Thundering Herd in comeback fashion. After Marshall tied Friday's game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth, Parker Bates blasted a moonshot over the scoreboard in right field to put the Bulldogs in the lead for good. Bates' home run came on the first pitch of the eighth inning, giving right-hander Kyle Crigger a one-run lead to slam the door in the top of the ninth.
The Bulldogs scored nine runs between the fifth and sixth innings in game one of Saturday's doubleheader to turn a 4-2 deficit into a commanding 11-4 lead. After LA Tech jumped ahead 5-4 behind an RBI single from Philip Matulia, Ben Brantley entered the game as a pinch hitter and blasted a three-run homer to extend the home team's advantage to 8-4.
Marshall used a late-inning rally in game two of Saturday's doubleheader to notch its first victory over the series. Leadoff batter Taylor Young launched a go-ahead, three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth before the Herd tallied nine runs in the top of the seventh. On Sunday, the Thundering Herd slugged three home runs to power the visitors to a 7-2 victory. The win marked LA Tech's first defeat in a weekend series finale in 2021.
Third baseman Hunter Wells continued his hot streak over the weekend, batting .467 against the Thundering Herd with three extra-base hits. Wells' second triple of the season marked the ninth of his career, moving him into a tie for first place in program history. Wells ranks eighth national in hits (59) and tied for 21st in the country with 95 total bases.
Left-hander Jonathan Fincher struck out 10 opposing batters in Friday afternoon's start, marking the fourth time in his career the Shreveport native has reached double-digit strikeouts in a start. Fincher ranks 10th in the nation with three complete games and checks in inside the top 20 nationally with a 1.79 ERA (20th) and a 0.83 WHIP (14th). Fincher and LA Tech's starting rotation has helped Tech toss seven shutouts so far this season, which ties for first in the nation.
For the second straight week, Young ranks first in the country with 50 runs scored, becoming the first Division I player to reach the half-century mark in 2021. Tech's leadoff batter had a "quiet" weekend for his standards, but he still crossed home plate three times and launched his sixth home run of the season in this past weekend's series.
Five Bulldogs are batting over .350 (minimum 50 at-bats) in conference play. Wells (.415) and Bates (.391) rank second and fourth, respectively, in the C-USA in batting average. Young (.517) and Bates (.500) hold the top two marks in on-base percentage through five conference weekends.
The all-time series between the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders is split at 12-12. All 24 games in the series have been played since 2001 with the Diamond Dogs holding a 3-2 record against Middle Tennessee in the past five matchups. Tech's longest winning streak in the series is three games, sweeping a home series against the Blue Raiders in 2016.
Scouting Middle Tennessee:
Middle Tennessee recorded a series victory over UAB with a 3-2 Sunday victory over the Blazers at Reese Smith Jr. Field. The Blue Raiders moved above .500 in C-USA play with the series win, holding a 10-9-1 mark against conference opponent in 2021. The Blue Raiders recorded their best nonconference victories with a series win at South Alabama (No. 55 in the latest RPI rankings).
Reliever David Zoz has been dominant for the Blue Raiders this season, holding a 6-0 record with a 1.41 ERA and a 32-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Zoz struck out five batters and held the Blazers hitless over the final five frames of the games to earn the pitching victory. Zoz's 1.41 ERA in 32.0 innings pitched helps Middle Tennessee hold a 3.87 ERA as a staff, the second-best mark in the C-USA this season.
Middle Tennessee also ranks second in the nation with a 3.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The only team better than the Blue Raiders is fellow C-USA opponent, Southern Miss.
On offense, the Blue Raiders like to take chances on the base paths, ranking sixth in the nation with 84 stolen bases. Middle Tennessee also ranks first in the nation with being caught stealing 31 times. Infielders Fausto Lopez (18) and Brett Coker (12) and outfielder Luke Vinson (10) have each tallied 10 or more stolen bases in 2021.
Head coach Jim Toman holds a 46-64-1 record in his third year with the Blue Raiders. Toman spent his previous nine seasons at Liberty, amassing a 329-205-1 record.
Friday-Sunday's series will mark the sixth of eight four-game conference series in 2021. All Conference USA series this season will consist of four games, one nine-inning game on Friday, two seven-inning games on Saturday and one final nine-inning game on Sunday.
Game times for the conference series at Middle Tennessee's Reese Smith Jr. Field are 6 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Saturday's first contest of the doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. with the second game being played around 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one. All four games will stream live on CUSA.tv.
Series Information
Game Times (Friday-Sunday): 6 p.m. | 1 p.m. & then Game 2 | 1 p.m.
Location: Reese Smith Jr. Field (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
Live Video Stream: CUSA.tv
Radio/Streamed Radio Broadcast: KNBB 97.7 FM (Friday-Sunday) | latechsports.com (Friday-Sunday)
Projected Starting Pitchers (Friday-Sunday)
LA Tech: Jonathan Fincher (LHP), Ryan Jennings (RHP), Cade Gibson (LHP), Jarret Whorff (RHP)
Fincher: 6-0, 1.79 ERA, 65.1 IP, 59 K, 15 BB
Jennings (1): 3-3, 5.01 ERA, 50.1 IP, 50 K, 14 BB
Gibson (2): 3-3, 5.56 ERA, 43.2 IP, 41 K, 12 BB
Whorff: 7-1, 3.26 ERA, 60.2 IP, 52 K, 21 BB
Middle Tennessee: TBA
TBA:
TBA:
TBA:
TBA:
About the No. 16 Diamond Dogs:
After splitting a Conference USA series against Marshall over the weekend, the Bulldogs dropped two spots in D1Baseball's Top 25. LA Tech ranks inside the top 25 in four polls – D1Baseball (16), Baseball America (18), USA Today Sports Coaches Poll (18), NCBWA (18).
No. 16 LA Tech won the first two games of this past weekend's series against the Thundering Herd in comeback fashion. After Marshall tied Friday's game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth, Parker Bates blasted a moonshot over the scoreboard in right field to put the Bulldogs in the lead for good. Bates' home run came on the first pitch of the eighth inning, giving right-hander Kyle Crigger a one-run lead to slam the door in the top of the ninth.
The Bulldogs scored nine runs between the fifth and sixth innings in game one of Saturday's doubleheader to turn a 4-2 deficit into a commanding 11-4 lead. After LA Tech jumped ahead 5-4 behind an RBI single from Philip Matulia, Ben Brantley entered the game as a pinch hitter and blasted a three-run homer to extend the home team's advantage to 8-4.
Marshall used a late-inning rally in game two of Saturday's doubleheader to notch its first victory over the series. Leadoff batter Taylor Young launched a go-ahead, three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth before the Herd tallied nine runs in the top of the seventh. On Sunday, the Thundering Herd slugged three home runs to power the visitors to a 7-2 victory. The win marked LA Tech's first defeat in a weekend series finale in 2021.
Third baseman Hunter Wells continued his hot streak over the weekend, batting .467 against the Thundering Herd with three extra-base hits. Wells' second triple of the season marked the ninth of his career, moving him into a tie for first place in program history. Wells ranks eighth national in hits (59) and tied for 21st in the country with 95 total bases.
Left-hander Jonathan Fincher struck out 10 opposing batters in Friday afternoon's start, marking the fourth time in his career the Shreveport native has reached double-digit strikeouts in a start. Fincher ranks 10th in the nation with three complete games and checks in inside the top 20 nationally with a 1.79 ERA (20th) and a 0.83 WHIP (14th). Fincher and LA Tech's starting rotation has helped Tech toss seven shutouts so far this season, which ties for first in the nation.
For the second straight week, Young ranks first in the country with 50 runs scored, becoming the first Division I player to reach the half-century mark in 2021. Tech's leadoff batter had a "quiet" weekend for his standards, but he still crossed home plate three times and launched his sixth home run of the season in this past weekend's series.
Five Bulldogs are batting over .350 (minimum 50 at-bats) in conference play. Wells (.415) and Bates (.391) rank second and fourth, respectively, in the C-USA in batting average. Young (.517) and Bates (.500) hold the top two marks in on-base percentage through five conference weekends.
The all-time series between the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders is split at 12-12. All 24 games in the series have been played since 2001 with the Diamond Dogs holding a 3-2 record against Middle Tennessee in the past five matchups. Tech's longest winning streak in the series is three games, sweeping a home series against the Blue Raiders in 2016.
Scouting Middle Tennessee:
Middle Tennessee recorded a series victory over UAB with a 3-2 Sunday victory over the Blazers at Reese Smith Jr. Field. The Blue Raiders moved above .500 in C-USA play with the series win, holding a 10-9-1 mark against conference opponent in 2021. The Blue Raiders recorded their best nonconference victories with a series win at South Alabama (No. 55 in the latest RPI rankings).
Reliever David Zoz has been dominant for the Blue Raiders this season, holding a 6-0 record with a 1.41 ERA and a 32-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Zoz struck out five batters and held the Blazers hitless over the final five frames of the games to earn the pitching victory. Zoz's 1.41 ERA in 32.0 innings pitched helps Middle Tennessee hold a 3.87 ERA as a staff, the second-best mark in the C-USA this season.
Middle Tennessee also ranks second in the nation with a 3.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The only team better than the Blue Raiders is fellow C-USA opponent, Southern Miss.
On offense, the Blue Raiders like to take chances on the base paths, ranking sixth in the nation with 84 stolen bases. Middle Tennessee also ranks first in the nation with being caught stealing 31 times. Infielders Fausto Lopez (18) and Brett Coker (12) and outfielder Luke Vinson (10) have each tallied 10 or more stolen bases in 2021.
Head coach Jim Toman holds a 46-64-1 record in his third year with the Blue Raiders. Toman spent his previous nine seasons at Liberty, amassing a 329-205-1 record.
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