BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Tech baseball team cranked out 12 runs on 17 hits, en route to a convincing 12-1 wire-to-wire win over No. 15 LSU on Tuesday evening from Alex Box Stadium in front of 10,304
The road win marked LA Tech’s (30-19) first road win over the Tigers (30-19) since the 1983 season. The 11-run difference was the largest in a Tech victory over LSU since 1933.
“I thought we hit the ball hard all weekend, and it carried over into tonight,” head coach Lane Burroughs said. “We’re playing well lately, even though our record hasn’t shown it. I was just so proud of our guys with the way they came out and pounced tonight. Every time we scored, we’d come right back with a shutdown inning, and that was a huge momentum boost for us. We dominated average plays, threw strikes and executed offensively. We’ve been in the pit recently, but our guys just keep pushing forward, no matter the circumstances.”
Tech starter Logan Robbins (4-3) was dominant for the second straight week since moving into the midweek starter role. Robbins tossed a season-high 6.2 innings, while holding down the Tiger offense to just one unearned run. Robbins allowed just three hits, while striking out two and walked just one batter. Through his first six complete innings, the southpaw faced just three batters over the minimum.
“What can you say about Logan Robbins?” Burroughs added. “He lost his weekend rotation spot a couple weeks ago and he could’ve moped and pouted, but all he’s done is come out these past two midweeks and given us a tremendous effort on the mound. I couldn’t be more proud of him, giving us a chance to win, and he was great tonight.”
Meanwhile, the Tech offense plated runs in seven of the nine innings. The top of the Tech lineup in Taylor Young, Hunter Wells and Mason Mallard combined to score nine of the team’s 12 runs.
The Bulldogs struck first in the contest of LSU starter Chase Castello (0-1), as the top of the lineup produced early for the visitors.
Hunter Wells got things started with a one-out single, and then moved to third after an ensuing double to left field from Mason Mallard. With two in scoring position, Tanner Huddleston grounded to short, and reached safely via a throwing error, as Wells came home to score the game’s opening run.
Then, shortly after, Tech’s RBI leader in Parker Bates, drove in his 45th run of the season, singling home Mallard from second, pushing the early Tech edge to 2-0.
Tech starter Logan Robbins inherited a 2-0 lead to begin the game, but ran into some early trouble as the first two Tigers reached via a single and a walk. However, the senior left-hander responded with a 4-6-3 double play grounder and a lineout to third, to keep the Tigers off the board in the first.
After both starters sat down the sides in order in the second, the top of the Tech lineup cycled back around and continued to wreak havoc on Castello in the third.
Wells and Mallard both notched one-out singles, before Castello was pulled for reliever Will Ripoll. Huddleston promptly picked up his second RBI of the evening, singling sharply to right, plating Wells. Then, two batters later, Tech designated hitter Manny Garcia got in on the action, lacing a two-out RBI single to left, giving Tech a 4-0 edge.
After Robbins again kept LSU off the board in the bottom of the third, Tech scored single runs in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, pushing the lead out to 7-0.
After the Tigers plated their first run of the evening in the bottom of the 7th (unearned off Robbins), the Tech offense roared back in the top of the eighth, plating four runs, while sending eight Bulldogs to the plate. Mallard began the scoring with his third double of the evening, plating Mason Robinson and Young, who led off the frame with back-to singles.
Shortly thereafter, an infield RBI single from Steele Netterville and a sac fly RBI from Bates, pushed the Tech lead out to its largest of the evening at 12-1.
Hunter Wells (4-for5, 3 R) and Mason Mallard (4-for-5, 3 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI) both finished with four-hit nights, while Tanner Huddleston (3-for-6, 4 RBI) and Parker Bates (2-for-4, 3 RBI) collected multi-hit outings.
Tech also got some solid relief of Robbins late in the ballgame, as Tyler Follis and Jonathan Fincher combined for the final two innings, allowing just one baserunner between them, in closing out the Tech triumph.
The Tigers were held to just four hits on the evening, while Tech pitching issued just one walk.
The Bulldogs will now return “home” for senior weekend, hosting WKU in a three game set from Warhawk Field at ULM. Admission to all three contests will be free and donations will be accepted for the disaster recovery efforts for Tech and the surrounding Ruston community.
