RUSTON – The Diamond 'Dogs (15-14, 4-5 CUSA) fell on the wrong side of a series sweep, dropping Sunday's finale to Jacksonville State (24-5, 9-0 CUSA), 7-4, at the Love Shack. This marks the first time the 'Dogs have been swept at home in a CUSA series since 2019 to Southern Miss in the conference-opening weekend.
 
A 6-3 twin killing turned by Colton Coates and a looking strikeout is how the afternoon started defensively for the Bulldogs. In Tech's first turn to bat, Coates led off with a base hit on the first pitch of the game but was thrown out on a 9-4-3 putout after overrunning first base.
 
Trey Hawsey was hit by a pitch and Colby Lunsford drew a walk to give Tech a runner in scoring position, but a fielder's choice and a swinging strikeout ended the inning.
 
The 'Dogs built up a 3-0 lead in the second with no outs on five-straight Tech batters reaching base safely. Wesly Scott and Reid Snider led off with back-to-back singles before a 3-2 walk drawn by McCann Libby loaded the bases.
 
Casey McCoy picked up the third single of the frame driving a pitch just over 100 miles per hour through the middle of the infield, scoring Scott and Snider. Coates' second base hit of the game was cashed in to score Libby, followed with a Colby Lunsford single to load the bases again with one out.
 
Eli Berch capped off the frame with a sacrifice fly to the JSU center fielder, giving the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead heading into the third.
 
Landon Fontenot dealt four innings of no-hit baseball in his outing, allowing just four walks and two HBPs while picking up the backwards K to end the first.
 
The Gamecocks etched across their first run of the day in the fifth, with the leadoff batter reaching second on an error and a sacrifice bunt before coming around to score on an RBI base hit. A solo homer the next at-bat cut Tech's lead to two, but an infield pop-up to Hawsey ended the frame.
 
A pair of errors and two hits allowed Jax State to score three runs in the seventh, giving them a 5-4 lead before a one-out two-RBI in the eighth pushed the Gamecocks' lead out to three runs.
 
The 'Dogs only managed one hit after the four-run second—a lead-off single in the eighth before being put out on a double play to end the inning. Tech also drew a walk and put a runner in scoring position with one out in the fourth, but a strikeout and a groundout left him stranded.
 
The Bulldogs close out their four-game homestand when they play host to ULM on Tuesday, March 31 at the Love Shack. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. CT.
 
Quotables
 
Head Coach Lane Burroughs:
"Obviously, it's disappointing to lose and to get swept at home. We've been swept before—that's not the issue. The issue is how we're playing, and finding different ways to lose. It's not due to effort or ability, and we have to figure it out. We had a good pitcher on the ropes, and we couldn't knock him out. They were running from their bullpen as fast as they could—that was obvious. For the second day in a row, we sat on a lead and squander it. But I'm the head coach and it falls on me. I'll wear it, but it's not an ability thing or that any of the guys aren't playing hard. I just don't think they're playing to win—it seems more of a mental thing right now. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I have to get to the bottom of it because I am the head coach of this baseball team. I apologize to our fans from wherever you're watching—at home on tv or in the stands, because it's hard to watch. I'll take responsibility—I'm not taking anything away from Jax State, either. I think they have a really good baseball team. But I think we do too, if we can get back to our winning mentality."
 
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