RUSTON – 4-0 is how the Bulldogs come out of Opening Weekend for the third-straight season and the seventh time in the Lane Burroughs era since 2017. LA Tech is now 14-1 when playing against Houston Christian and have won their last 10 matchups.
 
An 11-0 7-inning run-rule victory was the outcome of Sunday's game against the Huskies, the 'Dogs' second run-rule win of the weekend. Tech was out to a 5-0 lead by the end of the third inning with an RBI single from Sebastian Mexico to open the scoring followed by a two-run base hit up the middle of the infield from Cade Patterson.
 
Matt Houston made his season debut behind the dish for the Bulldogs on Sunday, and mashed his first homer of the season on the second pitch of his first at-bat in the second inning. Following a double by Lunsford, a single from Hayden Gustavson and a throwing error from HCU's second baseman, the Bulldogs had extended out by five runs going into the fourth.
 
Brooks Roberson dominated on the mound in his first start of 2026, tossing six scoreless frames allowing just two hits, one walk and striking out three Husky hitters. The reigning CUSA Freshman of the Year was perfect through the first three frames before the perfect game was broken up on a throwing error to lead off the fourth.
 
The following two batters also reached on a fielder's choice and a walk, but a lineout double play put a halt to HCU's threat and ended the frame.
 
For the first time since 2018, the Bulldogs have had at least three starting pitchers throw at least five innings during the opening series of the season.
 
Following a pitching change and a strikeout to start the bottom half of the sixth, Houston belted his second homer of the day to the third deck of the center field apartments behind the Love Shack, traveling 455 feet with an exit velo of 105 mph.
 
Casey McCoy followed with his fifth hit of the weekend and first double of his career to give Tech a runner in scoring position with just one out. Colton Coates drew a four-pitch walk before Trey Hawsey made it a 7-0 game with an RBI knock through the left side.
 
Jackson Jones made his first career appearance in relief in the seventh, retiring the side in order on just eight pitches with two groundouts and a lineout.
 
The first four batters for Tech in the home half all reached safely and extend the advantage to nine. Patterson drew a walk followed by three-straight base hits off the bats of Gustavson, Zeb Ruddell and Houston with RBIs credited to Ruddell and Houston. A double play brought HCU to just one out away from extending the game to the eighth, but a two-run homer from Coates walked the game off for the second run-rule victory of the weekend.
 
The Bulldogs close out the five-game homestand to start the season on Wednesday, February 18 for a midweek clash with McNeese at the Love Shack. First pitch for Wednesday's contest is set for 6 p.m. CT.
 
Notables

• Burroughs is now just two wins shy of tying Barry Hinton for the second-most wins in program history
• Colby Lunsford ended the weekend 9-15 at the plate with six runs scored, three doubles, two homers and six total RBI
• Cade Patterson leads the team after Opening Weekend with 12 RBI
• Colton Coates, Colby Lunsford and Sebastian Mexico extend themselves to a four-game hitting streak, while Zeb Ruddell and Casey McCoy extend their streaks to three games
• The Bulldogs get their first
• The Bulldogs recorded their first home shutout since March 5, 2025 in a 10-0 7-inning victory over Nicholls

 
Quotables
 
Lane Burroughs:
"Just extremely proud of this team. Opening Weekend can go a lot of ways—a lot of dynamics involved, anxiety, guys are amped up [and] sometimes you don't play your best. I think the most impressive thing to me is we had so many different games. We had two run-rule games that we played extremely well, and then we had two gut-check games yesterday that could've gone either way, and we were able to pull those out as well. Brooks Roberson looked as good today on the mound as he has in a really long time, and that's why he was Freshman of the Year last year in CUSA. I thought he was in total command from the start. He's very competitive, he can be a kid that can get a little too amped up sometimes—you have to keep him calm. I thought Matt Houston did a great job of keeping him calm. Matty always catches Brooks well. It was good to have Jackson Jones get his one inning of work in, freshman from Benton along with Thomas Allen representing their alma mater. Matt Houston needs to be talked about—he makes me look smart not playing him the last two days, but one thing about him: he's probably the best teammate on the team. One of those guys everyone loves. Whether he's playing or not, he's always cheering for his teammates. He's doing whatever he can to make them better. I think the game gives back what you give to it, just like life. I couldn't be more proud of him with two homers and going 4-4 on the day. He makes an unbelievable play on a swinging bunt. Every coach in the dugout, including myself, was yelling to let it go [foul] and he just picks it up and throws the guy out. Just extremely proud of our offense. We talked about it Friday night—we want an offense that can travel. Whether its non-hitting weather or a big ball park, and we're athletic enough to run and bunt, hit and run, and we didn't really have to do a lot of that this weekend or not have those opportunities to do so. Friday night and today the ball was jumping, and yesterday we had to get some big critical hits. I thought we defended well all weekend. We had two good starts on the mound along with two mediocre starts. Had some bullpen hiccups but also some guys show out in the bullpen. I told the team they have to stay hungry and humble, but I thought we looked like a really good team. We clicked, and that's what we expected."
 
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