By: Kane McGuire/Louisiana Tech Athletics
RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech baseball team heads to Bowling Green, Kentucky this weekend to face WKU for its first road conference series of the season.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday, March 24 (6 p.m.) | Saturday, March 25 (6 p.m.) | Sunday, March 26 (1 p.m.)
Location: Nick Denes Field (Bowling Green, Ky.)
TV/Stream: HSSN on Facebook (Sunday game only)
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats | LA Tech Athletics app
Radio: Sportstalk 97.7 FM | LA Tech Athletics app
Weekend Rotation: Jonathan Fincher (Friday) | Alec Sparks (Saturday) | TBA (Sunday)
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (10-11, 1-2 C-USA)
The Bulldogs look to snap a three-game losing streak, having suffered back-to-back defeats to Charlotte followed by a midweek 10-6 loss at ULM. LA Tech is now 1-5 on the road this season.
Jonathan Hogart recorded his first multi-hit game as a Bulldog this past Tuesday against the Warhawks. He has recorded at least one hit in seven of his last eight games.
Ethan Bates saw action as an infielder and pitcher versus ULM. He allowed no runs in his one inning of work while also going 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the ninth. He has now appeared as both a position player and pitcher seven times this season. As a pitcher, he has allowed just two runs in 9.2 innings with 13 strikeouts. Meanwhile, he has also smashed four homers, second most on the team, while starting 18 games at third base.
The Bulldogs rank second in C-USA home runs with 27 this season. They have hit at least one home run in 15 of their 21 games this season (have hit at least one in six of their last seven games).
ABOUT WKU (15-7, 1-2 C-USA)
WKU opened the season with seven straight victories, but the Hilltoppers have lost three of their last four. Two of those came in their C-USA series opener at Middle Tennessee while the other was a 15-8 midweek loss at No. 6 Louisville this past Tuesday.
The Hilltoppers success so far this season can be attributed to their offense. Their .317 team batting average seconds second in C-USA while their 57 doubles this season is the second most in the country. Eight WKU players are battling over .300, led by Aidan Gilroy and Ty Crittenberger who are batting .381 and .380, respectively.
WKU will go with a weekend rotation of Lane Diuguid (Friday), Dawson Hall (Saturday), and Devyn Terbrak (Sunday). The trio have combined for a 6-1 record with each one having an ERA under 2.50.
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series against WKU, 27-18. The Bulldogs have won six straight over the Hilltoppers, including a home sweep last season in Ruston. This will be the first time since 2018 that the ‘Dogs travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky. They own a 6-2 advantage over the Hilltoppers in Bowling Green since the two became C-USA opponents.
