HATTIESBURG, Miss. – No. 2 seeded Louisiana Tech shuts out No. 7 seeded Charlotte 4-0 in game one of the C-USA Baseball Championship, presented by The First.
 
LA Tech (39-18, 20-10 C-USA) tops Charlotte (35-21, 17-13 C-USA) as three Bulldog arms complete the shut out while a four-run first inning is all they needed.
 
The Bulldogs struck first plating a four spot on Charlotte starter Evan Michelson. Taylor Young led off the bottom of the first by reaching on an error by the second basemen. Philip Matulia then drove him in doubling in the gap to take an early 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Cole McConnell grounded out and brought home Matulia for his 72^nd RBI on the season, tying the single season RBI record at LA Tech. Adarius Myers stepped up with two outs and on a full count pitch belted his fourth home run of the year taking a 4-0 first inning lead.
 
The Bulldogs have scored a total of 11 runs in the first inning in the last two matchups with Charlotte as they scored seven on Saturday.
 
Cade Gibson got the nod in the tournament opener and cruised through his first three innings of work tossing five strikeouts. Mother nature struck as we approached the fourth inning causing a five hour and 20-minute delay. Gibson toed the rubber after the delay and was able to get through the fifth inning lining himself up for his sixth win of the year. The left-hander went five innings allowing no runs on three hits and punching out seven.
 
Jonathan Fincher came on in relief and gave the Bulldogs three more zeroes. Fincher was efficient tossing just 36 pitches in those three innings and striking out two.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, Adarius Myers singled through the left side to record his third three-hit game of the season.
 
Kyle Crigger came on in his 31^st appearance of the season as he threw the top of the ninth. Charlotte managed to put two on with just one out until Crigger used a strikeout and a groundout to complete the Bulldogs fourth shutout performance of the year.
 
NOTABLES

• Bulldogs first shutout in tournament history
• Gibson improves to 6-4
• Myers goes 3-for-4 with home run (4) and two RBI
• Matulia goes 1-for
• Young scores once and is now one run away from tying his own single season record set at 83
• McConnell ties the single season RBI record at 72
• Crigger appears in his team-leading 31^st game

 
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Lane Burroughs
 
 
 
UP NEXT
LA Tech will face off with Old Dominion tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the winner's bracket at Pete Taylor Park.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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