RUSTON – Louisiana Tech looks to put an end to its three-game losing skid when it travels to Houston to face Rice in a three-game conference series.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates/Times: Thursday, April 6 (6:30 p.m.) | Friday, April 7 (6:30 p.m.) | Saturday, April 8 (2 p.m.)
Location: Reckling Park (Houston, Texas)
TV/Stream: CUSA.tv
Stats: LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: Sportstalk 97.7 FM | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (14-15, 4-5 C-USA)
LA Tech is coming off a heartbreaking 8-7 loss at Northwestern State, a game that lasted almost four hours after taking 13 innings to decide. Trailing 6-3, the Bulldogs scored three runs in the top of the eighth to ultimate force extras. Dalton Davis drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 13th on a sacrifice fly, but the Demons plated two in the bottom of the frame.
 
Logan McLeod continued his positive efforts at the plate, going 2-of-5 at NSU. He has now reached base in 15 straight games. Over the last eight games, the third baseman is batting .394 with five multi-hit games. He is now hitting a team-best .311 for the season.
 
Making his 14th appearance of the season, Landon Tomkins was stellar out of the bullpen. The right-hander went 3.0 innings of no-hit baseball while striking out six. It marked the fourth time this season Tomkins has thrown at least 3.0 innings while allowing no runs. He is now tied with Ethan Bates for the lowest ERA on the pitching staff at 2.70, having thrown the second most innings (30.0).
 
The Bulldogs are just 3-7 in road games this season, but did win two of three at WKU to claim that league road series.
 
ABOUT RICE (14-15, 5-4 C-USA)
Rice is also trying to put an end to a three-game losing streak, having dropped the final two games of its road series at Florida Atlantic as well as a 14-13 slugfest with crosstown rival Houston.
 
The Owls are batting .244 as a team, led by infielder Pierce Gallo who is hitting .337.  Rice puts runners on the base paths via walks and hit batters quite a bit, ranking in the top 50 in the country in total walks (151) and HBPs (46).
 
Projected Thursday night starter Parker Smith has been the ace the Owls, having started seven games with a 2-1 record and a team-best 1.73 ERA.  Opponents are hitting just .240 off the right-hander who also owns 41 strikeouts.
 
Rice is 7-5 at home and has won one of its three conference series, sweeping UAB in Birmingham.  The Owls took one of three in their series with UTSA and FAU.
 
THE SERIES
Rice leads the all-time series over LA Tech, 43-19.  The two programs first met twice in 1980.  The next time would not be until 2002 when the Bulldogs and Owls became league opponents in the Western Athletic Conference. 
 
After facing each other in the WAC from 2002-05, the two teams played non-conference games in 2011 and 2013 before reuniting as league foes in Conference USA in 2014
 
Despite the Owls having a sizeable edge in the series, the Bulldogs have won the last seven meetings.  They swept the three-game series in Ruston last season and swept the four-game series in Houston in 2021.
 
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