MOBILE, Ala. – The Diamond 'Dogs (9-7) returned to their winning ways Saturday afternoon, securing a 6-2 win over South Alabama (11-4) at Eddie Stanky Field, snapping an abysmal six-game losing streak entering the contest.
The 'Dogs jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in their first turn to bat.
Colby Lunsford ripped a one-out single to center and advanced to second on a short chopper to the second baseman.
Sebastian Mexico then pulled a two-out pitch up the middle, with the ball deflecting off the diving Jaguars second baseman and allowing Lunsford to wheel around third and score the first run of the day.
Hudson Rowan created some early traffic in the home half of the first, allowing a leadoff double and a hit-by-pitch before both runners advanced to scoring position on a passed ball. However, a looking strikeout and a fly out to left ended the home team's threat.
South Alabama then put their first run on the board and tied the game at 1-1 with a one-out solo blast in the second. Both sides were retired in order through the third and fourth, until the Jaguars took a one-run lead on an RBI groundout in the home half of the fifth, but that was all the run support South Alabama would muster for the remainder of the game.
Rowan held steady in his sixth and final inning of the day by retiring the side in order. The junior southpaw ended his outing with six full innings allowing three runs on two hits, and allowing no walks with four punchouts while earning his third winning decision of the season.
Tech took a lead in the seventh that would not be relinquished for the rest of the day on a two-run blast the opposite way by
Zeb Ruddell, poking his second round-tripper of the season just over 400 feet off the right field videoboard. The 'Dogs added one more in the eighth after Mexico led off with a single and ended up on second thanks to a throwing error by the Jaguars second baseman.
Coates put Mexico 90 feet away from home on a groundout before
Wesley Scott ripped an RBI knock to center on the first pitch of his at-bat to put the 'Dogs out front by two.
Trey Hawsey then followed with his own two-run blast in the ninth to put the game away after Lunsford reached base on a hit-by-pitch.
A fielding error gave South Alabama a runner on first with one out, but a pop out and a fielder's choice ended the game and forced a Sunday rubber match.
Riley Fisher was dominant out of the bullpen, tossing the final three innings without allowing a run and just one hit with four strikeouts. The lefty reliever earned his third save of the season in six outings with the second-most innings and strikeouts recorded of his young Bulldog career.
The Bulldogs look ahead to a rubber match on Sunday, March 8 at 3 p.m. CT with the Jaguars. This will be the first time Tech faces a rubber match in a three-game series since the regular-season finale in 2025 against New Mexico State, when they won the series with a strong 8-1 victory over the Aggies.
Quotables
Head Coach Lane Burroughs:
"First thing—we got a tremendous start from
Hudson Rowan. He was electric. That was what we needed—when you have to win these kinds of games to get out of a losing streak, you have to get a great start from somebody. He was great all day long. He commanded all of his pitches. I thought
Riley Fisher was electric at the end of the ball game, and we finally got some clutch hits. Obviously, Hawsey's two-run homer put it away. Zeb had been struggling—he got a big double, and a big oppo two-run homer. And
Wesley Scott got a big hit over the shortstop's head to drive in a run. The thing I'm most proud about is we challenged these guys last night. We told the guys what this program is about, and our dugout was alive. The focus and the intensity on every pitch. That was what we told them—you have to focus on being intense on every pitch, that pitch only. Don't worry about anything else and don't worry about the scoreboard, and our dugout was as good as it's been all year. It feels good to win, but we need to come out tomorrow and find a way to win the series."
Coach Burroughs on Zeb Ruddell coming out of the slump:
"You hope this is the start of that. His BP has been good. I don't like giving up on kids, especially when they prove that they can do it, and he proved it last year. He's been scuffling—the whole team has. Hopefully, that'll get him going. Even on his outs I thought he had some good swings. He helps us defensively in the outfield, so he needs to be out there. It was a total team win today. I can't say enough about our dugout. It was an intense game, there were warnings given—and I'm good with that. We're not going to take anything from anybody, and I couldn't be more proud of our whole team and coaching staff to finally get that win and get that losing streak over with. Let's get on a heater now and see if we can win this series tomorrow."
Coach Burroughs on Riley Fisher:
"Fisher is always one of the first guys up when we're on the road. He's an intense dude, he wants to be good and wants to be a great Louisiana Tech Bulldog. You saw him at the end of the ball game. Once Rowan gave us six innings, I said it was Fisher's game from here on out. He did what he did in Memphis a few weeks ago. We're fortunate to have him—he's a great pitcher and competitor, and he pumps strikes with good stuff that they struggled with."
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