Staff report
BATON ROUGE — For the second time this season, Louisiana Tech saw an early lead disappear in Baton Rouge as LSU defeated the Bulldogs 16-8 in a rain-shortened contest at Alex Box Stadium Tuesday night.
Tech (33-13) led 4-0 and 6-3 before LSU scored 16 runs over its next five at bats. Bulldog starter Jarret Whorff tossed two shutout innings before being pulled due to pitch count with an upcoming Conference USA series against UTSA approaching this weekend.
The Bulldogs’ bullpen was unable to get the job done as six different relievers allowed 16 runs on 16 hits, three walks and three hit batters as five different Tigers recorded multi-hit efforts in the contest.
Tech plated two runs in the first, one in the second and one in the third to jump out to the 4-0 advantage. LSU countered with three runs in the bottom of the third to close the gap to 4-3. Jorge Corona homered to lead off the fourth and Hunter Wells singled as Tech regained a 6-3 advantage.
However, LSU scored five runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth as an infield error kept the inning alive for the Tigers. Tech tied the game at 8-8 on a Taylor Young two-run single in the top of the fifth inning, but that was it for the Bulldogs.
LSU plated eight runs –- three in the fifth, one in the sixth and four in the seventh –- to pull away for the win. The game was called with two outs in the bottom of the seventh due to weather.
Tech will host Texas-San Antonio this weekend in the final Conference USA series of the season. The Bulldogs trail Southern Miss by a half game in the West Division. USM will play at Florida Atlantic this weekend.
This weekend’s series includes the opener at 6 p.m. Friday and a Saturday doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Sunday’s finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Tech will host the 2021 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Championships May 26 through 30 at JC Love Field at Pat Patterson Park. Bulldog fans can purchase an all-tournament pass to attend up to 15 games for $175. The all-tournament tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, May 11, at 9 a.m. CT.
Fans can also purchase individual session and day passes for the tournament online beginning on May 23. Games played on May 26 and May 27, will be split into morning and evening sessions with each session consisting of two games. Chairback seats for a session can be purchased for $30 and tickets in the right field berm will be available at $20.
Fans can purchase full-day passes for games played on Friday, May 28, or Saturday, May 29, at $30 for a chairback and $20 for the right field berm.
Tickets for the championship game on May 30 will be priced at $20 for a chairback and $15 for the right field berm.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Tech Ticket Office at (318) 257-3631 or by visiting LATechSports.com/Tickets.
