HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Bulldogs fell short of a comeback on Saturday to Sam Houston, who took the second game of the weekend series, 7-4, at Don Sanders Stadium.
The Bearkats responded after being held in check in a one-run loss to the Bulldogs Friday night with a four-spot in the first. Sam Houston led off their half of the first inning with three-straight walks before a passed ball allowed the first runner to cross the plate and go ahead 1-0. With runners on second and third with one out, the Bearkats delivered a two-run base hit before a double capped their scoring.
Tech was able to get a runner in scoring position after a leadoff single and a two-out hit-by-pitch in the second but could not push anything across. The Bearkats continued to bring the pressure after a batter knocked a one-out single and moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. The next batter sent a fly ball to the right-center gap where a sprinting
Brody Drost was reading it. With an extra effort on a dive and full extension, Drost webbed the ball to prevent extra bases and a run.
With that runner still holding at second base, he eventually stole third the next at-bat before scoring on a ball thrown away from the base to give Sam Houston a 5-0 lead through two frames.
Once both sides were through a scoreless third inning, the 'Dogs put up a crooked number on the board in the fourth to close the gap. Three-straight singles led off the inning from
Michael Ballard,
Colton Coates and Drost, with Drost's knock scoring Ballard and advancing Coates to third base.
Eli Berch then drew a walk to juice the bases before a double play brought another run across.
Zeb Ruddell, who was in the lineup as a designated hitter for the Bulldogs, cranked a triple off the batter's eye to dead center to bring it to a 5-3 score going into the middle of the fourth.
A defensive battle ensued the next two innings before Sam Houston struck the scoreboard again in the seventh with a two-run homer. The Bulldogs tried chipping away and creating a rally in the ninth when Berch reached on a fielding error and scored on a double hit by
Trey Hawsey to cut the deficit to 7-4, but runners were left on first and second to end the game.
The rubber match is set for Sunday, March 23 at Don Sanders Stadium with a scheduled 12 p.m. CT first pitch.
Head Coach Lane Burroughs' comments after Saturday's game:
"We got our face kicked in in the first two innings, we let the game absolutely crush us. We dropped two fly balls—average plays in my opinion. I played outfield, wasn't a great player [but] we have to make those plays. You want to be good, you want to be a championship team [then] make plays. When we get a three-spot and then go out there and walk a guy and hit a guy, I mean we just have to be better. We'll see how tough we are tomorrow. Credit their guy, [Ryan] Peterson, obviously he had something going on. Then we had shock, and we get rung up, the umpire had the same zone the whole day. I don't know if it was good, bad [or] indifferent, bottom line is he had the same zone. We're not going to drive in a run with the bat on our shoulders. Just extremely, extremely disappointing. Who do we want to be? Do we want to win a championship? We are the defending champions. We'll see how tough we are tomorrow."
SUPPORT LA TECH ATHLETICS
Championships require championship resources. Fans can make a direct impact on the success of LA Tech Athletics through LTAC, Aillet Society, T-Club, and Young Alumni program as well as the Bulldog Community Outreach which is the NIL collective that supports Bulldog and Lady Techster student-athletes. Visit
BuildTheLegacy.com today.
BARK LOUDER
Our mission is to engage, develop, and advance the Louisiana Tech Athletics brand. You can do that by spending time consuming our content and by investing your talents. By barking louder with your time and talent, you can affect progress and brand advancement in a meaningful way. Visit
LATechSports.com/BarkLouder today. You bark. We bark. Louder together.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in Bulldog Baseball, follow us on X (
@LATechBSB), Instagram (
@LATechBSB), and Facebook (
LATechBSB).
