Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech survived an extra-innings thriller against Sam Houston on a Sunday afternoon in the Love Shack as the Bulldogs defeated the Bearkats 12-9 in walk-off fashion following an Adarius Myers three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning.
With the win, Tech (33-13, 11-4) completed the three-game sweep over Sam Houston and the Bulldogs now sit alone in first place in the Conference USA standings.
“I am proud of our guys it was a crazy weekend,” said head coach Lane Burroughs. “Ethan Bates said he was only available for one inning, and (Sam) Brodersen said he was not available. But the crazy thing is he was heading to the bullpen and told Cooper Fouts I am throwing if we play another inning.
“Bates played every game this week with three saves and a win. Adarius Myers is a Bulldog Man, a forever captain, and what time to hit your first home run this season. I didn’t know the ball was out of the yard, but I knew it would be double and know we had won.”
Both teams started the game by combining for ten runs in the second inning.
Sam Houston scored five runs off a two-run homer to left-center field from Jeffery David, followed by an RBI double from Easton Loyd, and Hunter Autrey drove in two with his RBI single, putting Sam Houston up 5-0.
However, Tech did some damage, as well, by getting on the board after a Jorge Corona (3-for-5, BB, HR) home run to left field. After back-to-back RBI sacrifice flyouts from Kasten Furr and Will Safford in the bottom of the second inning that cut Sam Houston’s lead to two, Bates (2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2B) earned a two-RBI single that tied up the game.
Later, Furr picked up his second RBI while singling to center field, causing Grant Comeaux to score. Next, Michael Ballard reached on a fielder’s choice error from Sam Houston that caused Bates to cross home plate, extending Tech’s lead to 7-5.
Eventually, in the fifth inning, Sam Houston came back to tie the game in the fifth with back-to-back RBIs from Malachi Lott and Jeffery David. In the sixth inning, the Bearkats took the lead when Jake Tatom picked up an RBI via a sacrifice flyout and put the Bearkats up 8-7. Tech clawed back to tie the game up following a fielding error from Sam Houston, causing Ballard to reach and Bates to score.
Following up in the eighth inning, Sam Houston secured the lead again after Jake Tatom earned an RBI single, which caused Hunter Autrey to score.
However, Tech fought back in the bottom of the ninth inning with the help of a Davis Davis two-out RBI single, causing Myers (4-for-6, 3 RBI, HR) to score home and send the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the tenth inning, Myers destroyed a ball to left-center, earning him a three-run homer and walk-off game-winner. Myer’s home run was his second game-winning hit of the season, while his first was against Northern Colorado in February.
Bates (2-1) earned his second win this season on the mound.
Louisiana Tech will head back to Monroe on Tuesday night to face ULM. Tech’s game on Tuesday is the last midweek game of the 2024 season, with the rest of the weekend schedule being CUSA play for Tech. The first pitch for Tuesday’s game will be at 6 PM and televised on ESPN+.
