Louisiana Tech set to take on Southern Miss
RUSTON, La. – No. 13 Louisiana Tech returns to J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park for a Conference USA series against Southern Miss. This weekend's four-game series will be the second matchup between the Golden Eagles and Bulldogs in 2021. Louisiana Tech (24-7, 10-2 C-USA) and Southern Miss (2110, 8-3 C-USA) will face off this weekend for a matchup between the top two teams in Conference USA's West Division standings.
About No. 13 Louisiana Tech
For the first time this season, the Bulldogs finished off a clean sweep of a conference opponent to move to 10-2 in the C-USA. Louisiana Tech's four-game sweep at Rice, their first road sweep of the Owls in program history, helped the Bulldogs move into the top 25 in all six major polls. Louisiana Tech jumped seven spots in the NCBWA's poll to No. 13, while the Bulldogs also moved up three spots in Perfect Game's poll to No. 13. The Bulldogs also ranked inside the top 25 in four other polls – D1 Baseball (No. 14), USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 15), Baseball America (No. 16) and Collegiate Baseball (No. 22). Louisiana Tech's No. 16 ranking in Baseball America's
poll is its best ranking in the poll's history.
The Bulldogs outscored Rice 46-16 at Reckling Park over the weekend, winning three of the four contests by six runs or more. Louisiana Tech opened the weekend with its seventh shutout of the season, blanking the Owls 6-0 behind yet another dominant performance from Friday night ace Jonathan Fincher. Fincher tossed his third complete game, allowing just four hits and one walk, as Louisiana Tech moved to 7-1 with the left-hander on the mound.
Fincher's exceptional performance helped him earn his second Conference USA Pitcher of the Week award. The lefthander ranks inside the top 20 nationally in multiple categories – tied for third in complete games (three), tied for 17th in ERA (1.35), 14th in WHIP (0.79) and tied for third in wins (six).
Louisiana Tech swept its first C-USA doubleheader of the season on Saturday, rallying from a four-run deficit in game one before blowing out the Owls in game two 20-6. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to complete the comeback in game one. Manny Garcia delivered the hit of the day with a two-run double to take the lead at 7-6. Right-handed reliever Landon Tomkins then nailed down his third save in the bottom of the seventh.
In game two, second baseman Taylor Young blasted the second pitch of the game out of the ballpark for a leadoff home run. The Bulldogs scored the first 12 runs of the game after LSWA Hitter of the Week Hunter Wells crushed a three-run, opposite-field homer in the third inning to make it 12-0. Wells finished the weekend 11-for-18 (.611) with eight runs scored, seven RBI and a home run, extending his hitting streak to 17 games.
The doubleheader sweep helped Louisiana Tech jump out to its best 30-game start to open the season since 1987, which is when the Bulldogs finished the year 43-14 and went on to win the Southland Conference Championship.
Center fielder Parker Bates capped off Louisiana Tech's weekend sweep with a threerun home run in the ninth inning of Sunday's 13-4 victory. Bates (.439) and Wells (.431) are batting both batting over .430 in Conference USA play. The Bulldog duo has combined to tally 40 hits, 28 runs scored and 26 RBI in 12 conference games this season.
Louisiana Tech has split the past 10 games against the Golden Eagles after taking three games in the first series in Hattiesburg on March 26-28. The Bulldogs have won two of the past three series against the Golden Eagles, but Southern Miss swept Louisiana Tech in the last series played in Ruston. Southern Miss holds a 25-13 edge in the all-time series.
Scouting Southern Miss Southern Miss enters this weekend's series as winners of seven of its past eight games, posting a 7-1 record since dropping an 8-7 contest to the Bulldogs in the series finale at Pete Taylor Park back on March 28. The Golden Eagles reeled off seven straight Conference USA wins since the last time the top two teams in the C-USA's West Division faced off, sweeping Texas San-Antonio in San Antonio before polishing off a four-game sweep over UAB this past weekend.
The Golden Eagles had their seven-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday with a home defeat to South Alabama. The Jaguars shut out the Golden Eagles 4-0, scoring all four of their runs in the top of the first. Despite the loss, Southern Miss leadoff hitter Gabe Montenegro kept his hitting streak alive with a twohit performance. Montenegro, who is batting .345 (.489 in C-USA play), has hit safely in 15 straight games for the Golden Eagles.
The pitching staff has remained dominant over halfway through the regular season, posting a 3.16 ERA to lead C-USA in the category. Starting pitchers Hunter Stanley, Walker Powell and Ben Ethridge each have an ERA below 2.60 this season, combining to strike out 157 batters while allowing just 23 walks in 140 1/3 innings pitched. The Bulldogs' lineup will offer the Golden Eagles a challenge once again this weekend as Louisiana Tech ranks first as a team in the C-USA with a .302 batting average.
Sophomore infielder Charlie Fischer, who missed Tuesday's game against South Alabama, ranks first in the C-USA with a .535 on-base percentage. Fischer also tops the Golden Eagles with a 1.125 OPS in 29 games (27 starts) in 2021.
Southern Miss holds a 6-3 record away from Pete Taylor Park in 2021, winning their past four road games after opening the year 2-3 outside of Hattiesburg. Mississippi native and Bulldog head coach Lane Burroughs was an assistant coach at Southern Miss from 1999-2007. Burroughs has coached in either Mississippi or Louisiana for all but one of his 25 years as a collegiate graduate assistant, assistant coach or head coach.