Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Men’s Basketball
Louisiana Tech started off the month of March with a bang, dominating Sam Houston to the tune of a 90-66 victory on Saturday inside Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
For the most part, the pounding took place in the second half. LA Tech (19-10, 8-8 CUSA) scored on 24 of its 32 offensive possessions, shooting 71.4 percent from the field in the stanza including a stretch of 10 straight made field goals.
“One thing was we did not turn the ball over,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “We just played together. To have 17 assists and shoot 50 percent from three, we took the right shots. The ball went inside-out, we had movement. I thought we did a great job of playing inside-out. We did not force-feed Daniel Batcho and he still had 18 points. We took what the defense gave us, played together, competed. I am proud of this team.”
What started as a 36-30 halftime lead escalated quickly as the Bulldogs got whatever they wanted on the offensive end. They made 20 of their 27 second-half field goals, drained six of their eight three-pointers, and made eight of their nine free throw attempts.
With Sean Newman sidelined due to injury, freshman AJ Bates played all 40 minutes just as he did at FIU. As a result, he recorded career highs in points (20), assists (nine), and steals (four). Green added 19 points and a season-high four assists. Batcho had a near double-double with 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Abram tacked on 14 points while Cooper added 10.
“AJ has been getting better,” said Hester. “He is not a freshman anymore. He is figuring this college thing out and we are just looking for him to keep getting better and better.”
Sam Houston was limited to 40.0 percent shooting from the field and just six made three-pointers. Lamar Wilkerson, one of the top scorers in CUSA, registered a game-high 22 points but was held to 6-of-17 shooting.
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Track and Field
The Bulldogs’ men’s and women’s track and field programs are coming back to Ruston with a collection of hardware. After the conclusion of the meet, LA Tech saw four conference champions and nine athletes finishing among the top three in their respective events. 16 athletes finished among the top eight to score points throughout the meet for Tech.
“I am really proud of my team, coaches and staff,” head coach Brian Johnson said. “We came here and competed well and showed that we are on the right path to compete for a championship. As outdoor for us now starts, I can’t wait to get some warm weather and great performances as we prepare for conference, regionals and nationals.”
Already with two podium finishes for the Bulldogs after Day 1, thanks to a second and third-place finish by Cobe Johnson and DeMarko Lawler Jr. in the long jump, Oscar Smith shattered his previous indoor program record with a time of 7.70 in the 60-meter hurdles.
The Nassau, Bahamas native finished as the event’s runner-up just .01 seconds behind the crowned champion.
Sabastian Bradley-Reed carried the torch in his 400-meter race, setting a new program record by nearly .7 seconds with a time of 46.74 to be crowned the individual champion.
Osaretin Joy Usenbor and Jamara Patterson also excelled in the women’s 400-meter finals, finishing as the victor and the runner-up to earn LA Tech it’s second conference champion of the day and it’s fifth and sixth podium finishes.
Both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay groups secured CUSA champion status, with the men running the second-fastest time in program history at 3:11.03. Tim Rummelhagen, Bradley-Reed, Laeden Tucker and Valentino Rudolph were just over a second shy of the their program-record 3:10.32 that was set earlier this season.
The women’s 4×400-meter relay group, comprised of Patterson, Usenbor, Jenaia Williams and Faith Tarver, set a new facility record and move up to fifth all-time in program history with a time of 3:37.63.
Tia Reder secured the Bulldogs’ ninth podium finish, coming in third in the women’s triple jump on a personal-best 12.37 meters.
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Softball
Louisiana Tech softball finished its weekend with a 3-2 record in the Southern Miss Black and Gold Challenge after falling to Lamar 5-4 in walk-off fashion on Sunday afternoon.
Tech (10-9) defeated Southern Miss 4-2 (Saturday), and Arkansas Pine Bluff (10-1, 6-2) during the weekend while following to the Cardinals twice (5-3 on Friday).
On Sunday, the Cardinals used a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the win. The loss moves LA Tech to 10-9 on the season.
Nicole Hammoude led the Bulldogs with two hits and two RBI. Reagan Marchant collected one hit and one RBI, while Alannah Rogers also recorded an RBI. Claire Raley, Elena Heng, and Marchant all had one hit apiece.
Allie Floyd made her ninth start of the season in the circle and pitched 4.0 innings, while giving up two runs on three hits along with seven strikeouts. Ryleigh Shull faced one batter in the fifth before Alyssa Martin finished the inning, along with the sixth. Martin allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout in 2.0 innings of work.
Mattison Buster took the loss after allowing three hits and two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
LA Tech jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after scoring one run in the first and two in the second. Rogers scored the first run of the game as she reached base after drawing a 3-2 walk. Marchant singled to center to place Rogers in scoring position, followed by a Hammoude single to left center to push across Rogers.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the top of the second as KB Briley and Allie Furr drew back-to-back walks, followed by an error that allowed Alexis Gilio to reach base. Heng reached on a fielder’s choice that the Bulldogs were unable to score on, as Briley was out at home on the force. Rogers recorded an RBI on a fielder’s choice that scored Furr. After another fielder’s choice and force play at home. Marchant drew a bases loaded walk to score the second run of the inning, making it 3-0 LA Tech.
Lamar cut the lead to one after scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, The Cardinals registered three straight base knocks including a single, double, and a single to plate their two runs to make it 3-2 Tech, and followed that with one more run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at three apiece.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, using a hit by pitch and two singles, and were able to score on a sac fly to tie the game.
LA Tech took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh as Raley led the inning off with a single and advanced to third on a stolen base and passed ball. Hammoude recorded her second hit and RBI of the day as she was able to plate Raley on a single up the middle.
Lamar led off the bottom of the frame with a double down the left field line and would get a second runner aboard on a bunt single. A stolen base would allow the Cardinals to place to in scoring position, setting them up for a walk-off base hit to secure the 5-4 victory.
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Tennis
Louisiana Tech wrapped up its trip to Houston, falling to No. 59 Rice by a final score of 4-0 on a windy Sunday afternoon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
Tech also dropped a heartbreaker to UNLV 4-3 on Saturday.
On Sunday, doubles were competitive across all three courts between LA Tech (9-4) and Rice (8-4). At No. 1, the duo of Ana Rodrigues and Zoie Epps were down 1-3 but rattled off three straight games to take a 4-3 lead over the 33rd-ranked tandem of Fernandez Martinez and Darya Schwartzman. However, the Owls countered with three straight games of their own to win it, 6-4.
Meanwhile on the neighboring court, Maria Tsironi and Alice Brook went back and forth against Saara Orav and Francesca Maguina at No. 2. The Bulldogs and Owls were tied at 2-2, 3-3, and 4-4 before Rice held serve and then broke LA Tech to also win, 6-4.
It was a battle at No. 3 as well where the duo of Nina Skoric and Mio Kozaki were up 6-5 against Divna Ratkovic and Allison Zipoli before the match was stopped.
Rice got off to a hot start in singles, claiming the first set on five of the six courts. The lone first set that belonged to LA Tech was courtesy of June Vigneron. The freshman, playing just her second dual match of the spring, took the first set 6-3 over Martinez.
LA Tech fought back though in the second sets. Rodrigues missed out on a set point, up 5-4 on a deuce point, while Epps fought off a match point to hold serve and get to 4-5.
The Owls would ultimately get straight-set victories on courts two, three, and five.
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Baseball
The Bulldogs dropped Sunday’s rubber game with the Memphis Tigers, 7-3, at the Love Shack. After LA Tech jumped ahead to a 2-1 lead in the third inning, Memphis jumped ahead with five runs in the fourth and never looked back.
Tech fell 7-2 on Friday and won Saturday’s contest 11-4.
On Sunday, the Tigers jumped to a 1-0 lead on an RBI double in the second, but outstanding play by the Bulldog defense helped prevent a run in the inning. Memphis’ Seth Cox doubled to the left-center gap before Jonah Sutton singled up the middle.
Cox was directed to score, but a relay from Garrison Berkley in center to Michael Ballard to Eli Berch at the plate cut the runner off as Berch tagged him out just inches before the runner touched the plate.
After Tech was retired in order in the second, Brody Drost and Will Safford dropped back-to-back bunts to lead off the third. A sacrifice fly by Ballard tied the game at 1-1 before Colton Coates grounded a ball to the Memphis first baseman. As the Tiger pitcher was running over to cover first base the first baseman underhanded a ball that went just over the pitcher’s glove, allowing Safford to score and give the ‘Dogs a 2-1 advantage.
Memphis led off the fourth with the first two batters reaching base on a walk and a hit by pitch. A sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out before a walk loaded the bases and a hit-by-pitch allowed the Tigers to even the score again. Memphis’ next batter battled to a full count before a grand slam put his team up 6-2.
“The wheels kind of came off in the fourth inning and our bullpen imploded, and that’s the ballgame,” said Tech head coach Lane Burroughs. “You can’t just keep pitching the same guys over and over, especially this time early in the year. Their arm will off. Everybody wants an opportunity, and I get that and understand it.
But Brooks Roberson comes in the game, true freshman, and you don’t hear much out of him after that when he just pitched the other night. He’s got toughness, he’s got moxie, and he’s talented. That’s the difference in the ball game-the bullpen just spun out of control for us, and we couldn’t get pitches when we needed them.”
Cade Patterson drew the Bulldogs closer with a solo homer in the sixth inning for his second-straight game with a home run, but Memphis matched it in the ninth after scoring on a wild pitch.
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Bowling
The Louisiana Tech bowling team finished second at the Bulldog Classic at Cityview Lanes on Sunday.
Eleventh-ranked Louisiana Tech (73-41) and No. 8 Sam Houston started the day with a high-scoring match. The Bearkats took the opening game 234-211. The Bulldogs continued to shoot in the plus and won games two and three, 203-192 and 202-188. The carry stopped for Tech, and the ‘Dogs didn’t strike until the eighth frame in a 244-187 loss. SHSU took the lead in game five.
It looked like the Bearkats would take the set in six, but halfway through, LA Tech found their mark and strung together the back seven to force a game seven with a 246-218 win. Opting to stay on the same lane, Tech couldn’t hit their mark but still had an opportunity to take the match late. However, Sam Houston would come away with a 209-179 win and take the match 4-3.
With an opportunity to get to the championship match, Louisiana Tech took on Oklahoma Christian for the third time in two days. Unlike the previous two meetings, this one scored lower. The Bulldogs only had two strikes in the opening game and fell 206-187. From there, Tech won the next four.
The ‘Dogs won games two and three with some room to spare, 185-158 and 200-181. The final two came down to the 10th frame. Each time, Paulina Avalos needed a mark, and she delivered. Tech came away 155-152 winners in game four, and Avalos struck in game five to seal the 173-166 win.
The championship match was a rematch against Sam Houston. The struggles continued for the Bulldogs, dropping all four games to finish second.
“This weekend had its ups and downs,” said head coach Matt Nantais. “After the first two days, leading the field by 300 pins gave me a lot of confidence heading into the bracket. Unfortunately, we didn’t perform to our full potential today and finished in second place.
“It was frustrating to watch, knowing we were capable of more. I need to do a better job of finding the right equipment and adjusting to the lanes. With two regular-season events left, we’ll regroup, learn from this, and come back stronger.”
