RUSTON – The Diamond 'Dogs (25-15, 10-4 CUSA) are gearing up for a clash with the Dallas Baptist Patriots (28-12, 11-4 CUSA) in a weekend series among two of the league's top three programs this year at the Love Shack.
 
The series opener is set for Friday, April 25 at 6 p.m. CT followed by Game 2 on Saturday, April 26 at 2 p.m. CT. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m. CT.
 
Series Information
Date: Apr. 25-27, 2025
Venue: J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park (Ruston, La.)
Time: 6 p.m. CT (Friday) | 2 p.m. CT (Saturday) | 1 p.m. CT (Sunday)
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: Sportstalk 97.7 FM / LA Tech Athletics app
Stats: LATechSports.com/stats
Weekend Rotation: LHP Luke Cooley (Friday) | RHP Brooks Robrson (Saturday) | TBA (Sunday)
 
Series History
Series Record: 17-17 vs. DBU
Last Meeting: May 26, 2024 (L, 10-17)
Streak: L1
 
The Bulldogs and the Patriots split their season series last year at two games apiece. LA Tech won the regular-season weekend series in Dallas with DBU taking their fourth matchup in the CUSA Conference Championship Game at the Love Shack, 17-10, on May 26, 2024.
 
LA Tech is coming off securing its sixth-straight series win and fifth-straight series against a CUSA opponent after taking two of three games from Liberty at home last weekend. The Bulldogs opened the series with a thrilling walk-off comeback victory on Thursday before clinching the rubber game with a closely played 4-3 win.

Trey Hawsey hit the game-tying home run on a 1-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning of Thursday's series opener before Eli Berch walked it off with a single. The freshman first baseman also gave Tech two of its four runs in the rubber game with a two-run no-doubter to right field in the first inning.
 
Hawsey leads the team with a 1.014 OPS while holding a staggering OPS of 1.301 in league contests, which is third-best in CUSA. The West Monroe native is on a nine-game hitting streak, which is the longest current streak on the team. He is batting .390 in CUSA games, leading the Bulldogs and sitting among the top 10 in the conference.
 
Luke Nichols etched his third outing at least three scoreless innings in the series finale against Liberty, going three full frames allowing just one hit, one walk, striking out four batters and earning his fourth win of the season. Blake Hooks earned his league-leading seventh save on Saturday which sits in the top 25 nationally among Division I pitchers.
 
 Colton Coates has been one of CUSA's toughest to strike out, ranking the second-best with a rate of 9.2 at-bats per strikeout.
 
Previewing the Patriots
DBU enters the weekend tied for the top spot in the CUSA standings with WKU at an 11-4 record in conference play. The Patriots had a nine-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday, April 22 in a 16-4 blowout loss on the road at Oklahoma State.
 
The Patriots recorded consecutive sweeps at Jacksonville State and at home against Sam Houston following a series loss to the Hilltoppers at home. They have recently picked up midweek ranked wins on the road at No. 16 Oklahoma (9-1) and at No. 15 TCU (6-5) in 10 innings. DBU's offense exploded for 49 runs in three games against the Bearkats while only allowing four runs in each of their three games.
 
DBU is led by head coach Dan Heefner, who is in his 18th season at the helm of the Patriots' baseball program. Heefner has led the Patriots to 12 NCAA Regional appearances in the last 13 years, sitting as just one of five programs in the country to make an NCAA Regional appearance in each of the last 10 years.
 
In 17 seasons at DBU, Heefner owns a career record of 652-326-1, and his .667 win percentage ranks as the eighth-highest in the nation among active NCAA Division I coaches. Dating back to the 2015 season when the Patriots hosted the Dallas Regional, Heefner has guided DBU to 396 wins, and the Patriots' 43 wins per season is the third-highest average in the country over the last 10 years.
 
Grant Jay is one of DBU's top sluggers at the plate, batting .363 with a team-leading 16 home runs and an impressive 1.290 OPS on the year. The Patriots backstop also leads the team with 58 runs, 14 doubles and an .801 slugging percentage. Nathan Humphreys leads the team with a .374 average and 58 hits, while sitting in a tie for the most RBI at 52 with teammate Chayton Krauss.
 
Jake Bennett, along with Krauss, Jay and Humphreys, are the only four players for DBU this year with double-digit home runs so far. Tom Poole has also been one of the Patriots' more efficient bats at the plate, batting .362 to join Humphreys, Jay and Krauss as the four DBU players batting above .350 at this point in the season.
 
Right-hander Micah Bucknam is set to start on the mound for DBU in the series opener. The Canadian junior enters with a 6-1 record and a 3.38 ERA to his name, which is currently the sixth-best in CUSA. His 76 strikeouts is tied for the most in the league with Liberty's Dylan Mathiesen through 56 full innings of work.
 
He has already pitched a pair of complete games this season, including a 7-inning shutout over Middle Tennessee where he allowed just three hits, one walk and punched out 14 batters.
 
Right-hander James Ellwanger is scheduled to be on the bump for Game 2 of the series. Ellwanger is 2-1 on the year with a 3.74 ERA through 33 2/3 innings. He has fanned 53 batters while allowing 14 earned runs on 27 hits and 23 walks yet has held opponents to a combined average of .223.
 
Right-hander Ryan Borberg will close out the weekend in the series finale, holding a 4-4 record through nine starts and 10 appearances. He holds an ERA of 4.47 through 44 1/3 innings, striking out 44 batters while allowing 22 earned runs on 46 hits and 10 walks. Borberg has at least five strikeouts in three of his last four appearances and just recently tossed a season-high six innings on April 13 against Jacksonville State.
 
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