RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech baseball team continues its home stretch this weekend with a three-game conference series versus the Panthers of FIU.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates/Times: Friday, April 14 (6 p.m.) | Saturday, April 15 (2 p.m.) | Sunday, April 16 (11 a.m.)
Location: J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park (Ruston, La.)
TV/Stream: CUSA.tv
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Radio: Sportstalk 97.7 FM | LA Tech Athletics app
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
Series Sponsor: Fyzical Therapy
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (16-18, 6-6 C-USA)
LA Tech suffered its second straight midweek defeat last night, falling 8-5 to ULM at the Love Shack.  The Bulldogs are in the midst of their fourth three-game losing streak.  In the previous three, the 'Dogs were able to put an end to the streak with a victory.
 
Despite a grand slam from Ethan Bates, LA Tech was unable to defeat the Warhawks. With the game tied 1-1 going into the fifth, ULM used four hits, three walks, and one hit batter to put up five runs and break the game open. Bates' grand slam came in the seventh (the first grand slam for the Bulldogs this season), but LA Tech did not threaten in the eighth or ninth.
 
Logan McLeod extended his on-base streak to 20 against ULM, moving up to the leadoff spot to go 2-for-5 at the plate with two singles. It was his 11th multi-hit game of the season, the most on the team. He has upped his batting average from .263 to a team-leading .311 over the last 13 games (hitting .367 during that span with seven multi-hit games).   
 
Jonathan Fincher is scheduled to get the Friday night start versus FIU. He owns a 5-2 overall record and is a perfect 3-0 in C-USA games with a 2.22 ERA and 26 strikeouts in league games only. The Bulldogs have won the first game of all four conference series so far this season. 
 
ABOUT FIU (14-19, 3-9 C-USA)
FIU put an end to its eight-game losing streak this past Saturday with a 16-2 lopsided victory over rival Florida Atlantic.  The Panthers are still in search of their first conference series win, having lost each of their four series in league play to FAU, Middle Tennessee, UAB, and Dallas Baptist.
 
FIU ranks second in C-USA and 48th in the country in total hits with 330, having put together a batting average of .288.  The Panthers have five everyday players batting at least .300, led by Ryne Guida who is batting .352 with a team-best 34 RBIs. 
 
The Panthers are slated to throw Angel Tiburcio on Friday and Jackson Ritchey on Saturday.  Tiburcio has nine starts this season, having put together a 3-2 record with an ERA of 3.82. 
 
FIU has not been as successful on the road this year, having gone 1-8 away from Miami.
 
THE SERIES
The series is tied between LA Tech and FIU with each having won 18 games.  The two first met on the diamond in 1999 as opponents in the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers had the upper hand during their three years in the SBC, winning nine of the 12 matchups.  Since the two became C-USA opponents, the Bulldogs have a 15-9 advantage and have won nine of the last 11 meetings.
 
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