Louisiana Tech baseball drops Sunday’s finale to UAB

RUSTON, La. (KSLA) - A couple big innings from the visiting UAB Blazers kept Louisiana Tech from completing a weekend C-USA sweep as they fell 6-1 in a cloudy Sunday contest at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park. Both LA Tech (24-25, 13-11 C-USA) and UAB (15-31, 6-18 C-USA) flashed multiple zeroes on the scoreboard for half the game in a defensive battle where pitching took center stage. Tech starter Landon Tomkin (5-1) made quick work of the UAB lineup to start the matchup, needing just five pitches to get his first three outs.

Philip Matulia would get a single in the bottom of the second inning, but the Bulldogs couldn’t capitalize and would struggle to string together hits moving forward. UAB’s first hit of the game was a solo home run from Christian Hall, bringing the game to 1-0, but Tomkins and Co. were able to limit the damage and keep the game close until the seventh inning. Though the game had been fairly straightforward up until that seventh inning, the top half was not without its chaos. A HBP, error, and walk allowed the Blazers to load the bases, and after Caden Copeland entered in relief for Tech, two runs scored as a result of a wild pitch and an RBI groundout.

Greg Martinez took the mound, and the visitors tacked on one more with an RBI single to make it a 4-0 game. Tech got one back in the bottom of the inning when a Dalton Davis sacrifice fly scored Kyle Hasler but it would be the Bulldogs’ lone run of the game. UAB added some insurance in the top of the eighth in the form of two additional runs, and the 6-1 score would stand to the end. Head coach Lane Burroughs is glad to have taken the series but said he’s “disappointed” in the team’s inability to win the third game and complete the sweep. “It’s kind of been the tale of our season,” Burroughs said. “You get excited, and then you get punched in the face. We haven’t been able to put it together … You got to find a way to sweep this series, and we didn’t do it.” 

UP NEXT The Bulldogs will host UL-Lafayette for a Tuesday midweek matchup before a quick turnaround will see them fly to Boca Raton to face Florida Atlantic for the weekend.

Copyright 2023 KSLA. All rights reserved.