By Malcolm Butler
Magic is usually sleight of hand or an optical illusion.
Most people don’t believe it’s real.
Well, don’t try to tell that to Louisiana Tech baseball fans.
They have seen enough over the past two Conference USA Baseball Championships hosted in Ruston in 2021 and again this year to know that Love Shack magic is real.
Don’t doubt it.
It was on full display Saturday night as Lane Burroughs and the Boys found yet another way to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
This time against Liberty.
After falling to the Flames on Thursday and dropping into the losers bracket, the Diamond Dogs staved off elimination late that night with a 5-3 win over Sam Houston State.
The victory set up Semifinal Saturday. The Bulldogs needed to defeat Liberty twice to advance to Sunday’s title game where Dallas Baptist awaits the winner.
With temperatures and humidity taking a toll physically and the Bulldogs bullpen starting to wear thin, how in the world could Tech beat the Flames twice?
Simple. Magic.
After an 8-7 win Saturday afternoon to force the if necessary game, the Bulldogs came back just hours later and used a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th to advance to Sunday.
“It’s Love Shack magic,” said Burroughs in his post-game following the Bulldog’s 6-5 come-from-behind extra inning win in the nightcap. “That’s what it is. We said, ‘let’s make it a thing.’ A few weeks ago after we beat Sam Houston that was the group text. Let’s make Love Shack magic a thing, and I think we have.”
Tech fans believe.
In 2021 when the Bulldogs hosted the CUSA Championships in the inaugural year of the new stadium, Tech lost Thursday to Southern Miss before coming back with a win over WKU Friday. It set the stage for one of the most memorable days in Tech Athletics history.
Tech rallied not once but twice to defeat rival Southern Miss with both wins coming in walk-off fashion. The Love Shack was rocking to Pump It Up. It’s when the real magic began.
Anyone who thought maybe, just maybe, it was just luck? Well, forget about it. The 2024 Bulldogs are benefiting from Love Shack magic once again.
Trailing 5-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth against Liberty tonight and a berth in the championship game on the line, the Love Shack came to life.
Cole McConnell’s RBI single cut the deficit to 5-3 and then with two outs, Jorge Corona drove a pitch down the right field line that landed — magically — on the chalk, plating two runs and tying the game.
It wasn’t luck. It was magic.
“It reminded me of three years ago,” said Burroughs. “The crowd is going crazy and you could just feel it. I said it last night that I wouldn’t bet against us.”
Not with magic on your side, Lane.
In the top of the ninth, Liberty loaded the bases with no outs against All-American closer Ethan Bates. Burroughs pulled Bates and turned to Nate Crider to try to get out of the jam. All Crider had to do was face the heart of the Flames order with the game on the line.
It seemed like an almost impossible task for Crider, who had tossed only 13 innings all season.
Strikeout. Ground ball double play.
Crider and the Bulldogs somehow got out of a potential disaster. But how?
You guessed it … Love Shack magic.
The final act came in the bottom of the 10th with two outs. Corona recorded what appeared to be a harmless single. Adarius Myers walked. Burroughs pinch ran Thaxton Berch for Corona.
And redshirt freshman Grant Comeaux stepped to the plate and lined a 1-2 pitch up the middle into centerfield.
As Berch crossed home plate with the winning run, the Tech faithful were in a full frenzy. And seconds later, Love Shack began blaring over the speakers.
The win gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 record in elimination games in 2021 and 2024 — all coming at the Love Shack.
Four of those six wins have come by one run with three of them in walk-off fashion.
As Burroughs addressed the media following the game, he was drenched in sweat with a towel around his neck. He talked about the resolve of his players. He talked about the program. He talked about challenging his team midway through Saturday night’s final game when the Bulldogs were trailing 4-0.
“We called the team up in the fifth inning and told them you have five innings,” said Burroughs. “Don’t go down like this. You have to reach deep. I know you are tired. Everybody is tired. The fans are tired. It’s been a long tournament.
“We seem to be at our best when we have our backs against the wall. I don’t know why. We are the underdog. We like that. We like the chip on our shoulder. When we have to fight and come out of a corner, that’s when we seem to play our best. That’s who these guys are. That’s who our program is. Those are the type of players we want to have, and we got them. We got a locker room full of them.”
Tech will host well-rested Dallas Baptist Sunday at 1 p.m. in the title game following Saturday night’s magic.
Do the Bulldogs have enough left in the tank to win it?
“The odds are stacked against us,” said Burroughs. “I’m sure DBU was enjoying every bit of this. So be it. We are going to come play and give it everything we got. We won the regular season, so we might as well win the tournament. We are playing a really good team. It’s the two best teams in the league playing each other. It’s the way it should be. We like to do it the hard way.
“We talked about it when we got in the loser bracket. We talked about it with our team. We have been here. We are built for this. This is not new. We have guys that were on that team and they talked about it. It’s just that belief system of we are at home. We are in the right place to make it happen here at the Love Shack. Our fans are going crazy. I can’t thank them enough. I know it’s hot. It’s humid. It’s just that belief system that we are going to get it done. We have seen it before with our own eyes.”
But with their tanks on empty, the Bulldogs may need a little help.
Maybe a little magic.
