By Drew Parsley, Louisiana Tech Associate Director Strategic Communications
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Louisiana Tech’s pursuit of a Conference USA tournament title has come to an end, falling to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (35-24) in a back-and-forth contest, 7-6, at Worthington Field.
Tech closed the season 32-25.
Jacksonville State struck first in the opening frame after keeping the ‘Dogs off the board in the top half. The Gamecocks led off with a base hit before a stolen base and a groundout put the runner in scoring position before a two-out double gave Jax State the early lead.
The ‘Dogs answered back in their next turn at the plate with Garrison Berkley doubling down the left field line before advancing to third on a groundout. Brody Drost then put Tech on the board, evening the score with a sacrifice fly to score Berkley and empty the bases with two outs.
Will Safford followed up with a double pulled down the right field line before coming around to score on a base knock from Sebastian Mexico to left, bringing the Bulldog shortstop around to give the ‘Dogs their first lead of the day and Mexico advancing to second on the throw. Jax State made a pitching change with Michael Ballard coming to the plate, who drew a walk to bring Trey Hawsey up to bat.
The freshman first baseman saw a ball before turning on a pitch for a base hit through the right side of the infield, scoring Mexico to give Tech an early 3-1 advantage. The Gamecocks evened it up in the bottom of the second with a bases-loaded walk before a wild pitch brought the score to 3-3 at the end of the inning.
Both sides continued to exchange runs in the third. Tech retook the lead in the top half after a pair of singles and a groundout put two runners in scoring position with one out. Brody Drost struck out swinging, but the Jax State catcher dropped the ball and made the throw to first to get the speedy outfielder out. As the catcher was winding up to make the throw, Zeb Ruddell began a sprint home to sneak in a run and put the ‘Dogs up 4-3.
Jax State evened it up with a pair of doubles in the home half of the frame before the back-and-forth continued on with the Bulldogs adding a pair in the top of the fourth on an RBI single and a wild pitch.
Mexico drew a four-pitch walk followed by a base hit up the middle from Ballard before a flyout and a fielder’s choice put runners at the corners with two outs. Ruddell delivered with a base hit on the first pitch of his at-bat to put the ‘Dogs back out front before a wild pitch brought Coates across and gave LA Tech a two-run advantage.
The Bulldogs started off the bottom of the fourth with a pair of groundouts hit by Jax State, but a walk and a balk put a runner in scoring position and eventually coming around to score on a double to the left-center gap, cutting Tech’s lead to just one run heading into the fifth. Jax State threatened to put more across in the inning, but Luke Nichols came out of the bullpen to get a strikeout and leave a pair of runners stranded in scoring position.
Both sides were retired in order in the fifth, including Nichols picking up three more strikeouts to bring his total on the afternoon up to four through 1 1/3 innings. The ‘Dogs were able to load the bases in both the sixth and seventh innings in prime position to add on to their one-run lead, but Jacksonville State was able to escape both frames unscathed.
The Gamecocks broke through in the seventh after being shut out in the previous two innings with a two-out triple to dead center before an RBI double down the left field line gave them a 7-6 lead, their first lead of the game since it was 1-0 at the end of the first.
Jax State drew a pair of walks to load the bases, but their threat was halted when Blake Hooks entered the game and got a groundout to send the game to the eighth.
The ‘Dogs looked to rally in the ninth trailing by a run when Eli Berch led off with a base hit before being pinch ran for by his brother Thaxton Berch. Drost moved Berch up to second with a sacrifice bunt before a flyout put Berch at third with two outs. Mexico was intentionally walked, but a groundout ended the Bulldogs’ campaign.
Luke Nichols tied his season high with six strikeouts in his relief appearance, tossing three full innings allowing two runs on three hits and a pair of walks. Ruddell collected three hits and an RBI, and Ballard and Berkley each picked up a pair of knocks. Mexico scored two of the Bulldogs’ runs with the remaining four runs coming across by four different LA Tech baserunners.
