RUSTON – The Diamond 'Dogs (21-16, 9-6 CUSA) close out a four-game homestand on Tuesday, April 14 when they host the Little Rock Trojans (20-16, 8-4 OVC) at the Love Shack. First pitch of the contest is set for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Apr. 14 (6 p.m. CT)
Location: J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park (Ruston, La.)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: 97.7 FM / LA Tech Athletics app / Varsity Network app
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Series History: LA Tech leads 61-26 (since 1976)
Tuesday's meeting will be the 88th time the two sides meet since their first meeting in 1976, with the Bulldogs winning by a score of 9-0. The 'Dogs won 7-6 over the Trojans in 2024 after seeing their three-game winning streak over Little Rock snapped in 2022, falling to the Trojans, 8-7, in Little Rock.
The Bulldogs have won 10 of the last 12 meetings when playing Little Rock on their home diamond.
The 'Dogs have their longest winning streak of the season after notching their sixth-straight win to cap off a weekend sweep over Middle Tennessee. Tech has not seen a winning streak of at least six games since the 2025 season (Apr. 2-Apr. 12). With Tech outhitting the Blue Raiders in all three games, the Bulldogs are a perfect 19-0 when outhitting their opponents.
The Bulldogs are off to a 6-1 start in the month of April after posting a dismal 7-12 record in the month of March. Tech started the season 8-3 in the month of February.
Declan Dahl, who was named CUSA's Pitcher of the Week for the second time on Apr. 13, fired off seven innings while fanning eight batters in Friday night's series-opening win over the Blue Raiders. It is the second-straight start and fourth time this season to punch out at least eight opponents on the mound.
Casey McCoy had a stellar weekend at the plate, going 5-9 with a pair of homers and collecting his second career triple in the series finale.
The Trojans enter Tuesday's matchup coming off a series loss to SIU-Edwardsville on the road this past weekend. Little Rock took a 3-0 shutout in the series opener before falling 6-2 on Saturday and 3-2 in Sunday's rubber match.
Little Rock is just 5-6 in their last 11 games yet have won two Ohio Valley weekend series during that span. The Trojans' 8-4 mark in league play is good to tie for the third-best record in the OVC.
Kade Smith is one of Little Rock's best offensive weapons, leading the Trojans with a .353 average, 10 doubles, 28 RBI, 71 total bases, a .980 OPS and 19 walks. He also has the second-most runs scored at 24, tied with teammate Angel Cano. His seven stolen bases are also tied for the second-most on the team with Michael O'Brien.
His 47 hits, .442 on-base percentage and 10 doubles also rank among the top 10 in the OVC's statistical rankings.
Cano, along with Nolan Freund and Easton Roe, are three of the four Trojans batting over .300 thus far. Cano leads the team with five homers while Freund and Smith are tied for the second-most with four each.
Jerdy Lopez is the only Trojan with 35 starts in the 36 games Little Rock has played, leading the team with 10 stolen bases on 14 attempts. He is batting .277 on the year and leads the team with 29 runs scored and two triples hit this year.
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