RUSTON – Louisiana Tech takes its four-game winning streak to the Lone Star State to face nationally ranked Dallas Baptist in a three-game conference series.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates/Times: Friday, April 21 (6:30 p.m.) | Saturday, April 22 (2 p.m.) | Sunday, April 21 (1 p.m.)
Location: Horner Ballpark (Dallas, Texas)
TV/Stream: Patriots Network
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Radio: Sportstalk 97.7 FM | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (20-18, 9-6 C-USA)
LA Tech is playing perhaps its best baseball of the sea­son at the moment, having come off a series sweep of FIU as well as a 3-1 victory over rival Southern Miss who was ranked No. 24 in the country (was the 20th win over a ranked team for the Bulldogs under Lane Burroughs).
 
The LA Tech pitching held USM to just one run on four hits. Relievers Ryan Harland and Landon Tomkins, both of whom made their 20th appearance of the season, went a combined four innings while allowing only one hit. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs got a pair of solo home runs from Walker Burchfield and Jorge Corona (the catcher also doubled in a run the fourth), which was enough offense to pull out the win over the Golden Eagles.
 
Corona has been on an offensive tear as of late, batting .500 (7-of-14) over the last five games with five RBIs. Four of the seven hits have gone for extra bases -- two doubles and two home runs. He now leads the team in slugging percentage at .554 while having a team-high 11 doubles to go along with eight homers.
 
During the four-game winning streak, the Bulldog pitching has a team ERA of 3.08. The eight pitchers have allowed only 13 runs and given up just five walks while also striking out 24 batters. Landon Tomkins has thrown in three of those games, striking out 11 in 6.2 innings.
 
ABOUT DALLAS BAPTIST (28-9, 12-3 C-USA)
Dallas Baptist is ranked in four of the six national polls, ranking as high as No. 18 in the country by Perfect Game.  And for good reason as the Patriots are on a roll, having won 11 straight (tied for the second longest active streak in the nation).
 
In fact, DBU's last loss came against LA Tech.  Since then, they swept two C-USA series versus UAB and Florida Atlantic while also collecting midweek wins over Sam Houston State, Baylor, and UT Arlington.
 
The Patriots at 18-2 at home and rank first in C-USA in several statistics categories across all three phases – hitting, pitching, and fielding – including scoring (7.6 runs per game), fielding percentage (.978), home runs (57), stolen bases (78), and strikeouts per nine innings (11.2).
 
Five everyday players are hitting over .300, led by Miguel Santos who has a team-high 49 hits including 11 doubles and eight home runs as well as 40 RBIs.  Pitching wise, DBU is scheduled to throw Ryan Johnson, Braxton Bragg, and Zach Heaton who are a combined 11-4.  Johnson has an ERA of 2.86 with a team-high 71 strikeouts.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series over Dallas Baptist, 15-12.  The two teams faced off in a three-game series three weeks ago in Ruston with the Patriots taking the series.  The Bulldogs took game one, 5-2, but DBU won handily in games two (14-7) and three (9-1).  Only seven of the 27 all-time meetings have come in Dallas (last time was 2013).
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in Bulldog Baseball, follow them on Twitter (@LATechBSB), Instagram (@LATechBSB), and Facebook (LATechBSB).