RUSTON – The Bulldogs dropped Sunday's rubber game with the Memphis Tigers, 7-3, at the Love Shack. After LA Tech jumped ahead to a 2-1 lead in the third inning, Memphis jumped ahead with five runs in the fourth and never looked back.
 
The Tigers jumped to a 1-0 lead on an RBI double in the second, but outstanding play by the Bulldog defense helped prevent a run in the inning. Memphis' Seth Cox doubled to the left-center gap before Jonah Sutton singled up the middle. Cox was directed to score, but a relay from Garrison Berkley in center to Michael Ballard to Eli Berch at the plate cut the runner off as Berch tagged him out just inches before the runner touched the plate.
 
After Tech was retired in order in the second, Brody Drost and Will Safford dropped back-to-back bunts to lead off the third. A sacrifice fly by Ballard tied the game at 1-1 before Colton Coates grounded a ball to the Memphis first baseman. As the Tiger pitcher was running over to cover first base the first baseman underhanded a ball that went just over the pitcher's glove, allowing Safford to score and give the 'Dogs a 2-1 advantage.
 
Memphis led off the fourth with the first two batters reaching base on a walk and a hit by pitch. A sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out before a walk loaded the bases and a hit-by-pitch allowed the Tigers to even the score again. Memphis' next batter battled to a full count before a grand slam put his team up 6-2.
 
Cade Patterson drew the Bulldogs closer with a solo homer in the sixth inning for his second-straight game with a home run, but Memphis matched it in the ninth after scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Head Coach Lane Burroughs' comments on the day:
"The wheels kind of came off in the fourth inning and our bullpen imploded, and that's the ballgame. You can't just keep pitching the same guys over and over, especially this time early in the year. Their arm will off. Everybody wants an opportunity, and I get that and understand it. But Brooks Roberson comes in the game, true freshman, and you don't hear much out of him after that when he just pitched the other night. He's got toughness, he's got moxie, and he's talented. That's the difference in the ball game—the bullpen just spun out of control for us, and we couldn't get pitches when we needed them. They got the big hit with the bases drunk, grand slam. We had them juiced and we didn't get a hit. That's the difference—we got that hit yesterday; we didn't get it today. The sky is not falling. I went back and looked at it last night, we were 5-4 in 2022. We got swept at Nicholls—got beat on a Tuesday night. Went to Southeastern and got beat on Wednesday. We went to McNeese, won two out of three and got rolling. This team is very capable of getting on a roll. I'm not hitting the panic button just yet, so people need to stay with us. I think this team is good but if we don't get help in the bullpen, it'll be a long year. But I think we will, some guys will emerge and step up."
 
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