Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Baseball
The Diamond ‘Dogs (21-12, 6-2 CUSA) are geared up to return to Conference USA play with a weekend series on the road against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (15-18, 2-7 CUSA) at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro.
Game one is today at 6 p.m. Game two will be Saturday at 4 p.m. with the finale set for Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on 97.7 FM.
The Bulldogs have won the last three weekend series against the Blue Raiders when playing in Murfreesboro, including a four-game sweep during the 2021 season.
LA Tech has been heating up as of late after a scuffling 9-8 start, posting a 12-4 record since then including winning eight of their last 10 games. After a two-game sweep over FIU at home with the series finale being canceled due to inclement weather, the Bulldogs sit atop the CUSA standings with a 6-2 record while Middle Tennessee currently sits in a tie for last place with Sam Houston at a 2-7 record in conference play.
This weekend’s series is the first time the ‘Dogs are on the road for a CUSA matchup since playing Sam Houston, where they took two games against the Bearkats including a chippy 9-7 rubber match victory.
Middle Tennessee is led by head coach Jerry Meyers, who is in his third year leading the Blue Raiders baseball program. Since arriving to Murfreesboro, Meyers holds a 62-83 record and has secured a 30-win season since 2007 when he was the skipper for Old Dominion.
The Blue Raiders are led offensively by power-hitting Brett Vondohlen, who is tied for the most home runs in the conference with 13 this year. He also has driven in 36 RBI (4th in CUSA) and holds a staggering team-high 1.050 OPS. Middle Tennessee has six batters hitting over .300 this year with four of them having scored at least 20 runs.
Six different pitchers for the Blue Raiders have recorded at least two wins this year, with Jonny Stevens leading the team with three victorious decisions despite having an 8.68 ERA through less than 20 innings of work.
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Softball
Louisiana Tech softball will continue its eight-game road trip as the Bulldogs travel to Miami to face Florida International in a three game Conference USA series this weekend.
The Bulldogs and the Panthers will square off tonight at 5:00 p.m. CT, followed by a 5:00 p.m. CT meeting on Saturday and at noon CT on Sunday. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
This will be the 23rd all-time meeting between LA Tech and FIU. The two schools first met in 2001 as they played five games that season, with FIU taking all five. The two schools would not meet again until 2017 as they played a three-game series as CUSA members. FIU won all three to take make it eight straight wins, until the Bulldogs picked up a 1-0 win in against the Panthers in the CUSA tournament championship game.
The Bulldogs (24-16, 10-5) earned revenge against UL-Lafayette on Tuesday night as the Bulldogs secured a 2-1 victory of the Ragin’ Cajuns at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field. LA Tech turned around 24 hours later and traveled to Baton Rouge to take on No. 5 LSU but fell 9-1 in six innings.
Claire Raley became the third Bulldog to reach the 40+ hit club this season after recording two base knocks in LA Tech’s win over ULL on Tuesday. Raley and Nicole Hammoude are tied for second on the team with 41 hits apiece, while Elena Heng leads the team with 47. Heng leads the team with 33 runs scored, while Raley sits one spot behind her with 32 runs accounted for.
Allie Floyd earned the save against ULL after holding the Cajuns scoreless through two innings. It marked the first save of the year for Floyd and the 10th of her career. Floyd moved to 17-8 on the season after taking the loss at LSU. The right-hander leads the club and CUSA with 17 wins, 142 strikeouts and 145.0 innings.
The Panthers (27-13, 9-6) last played last weekend as they dropped their series 1-2 to Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas. The Panthers and Bulldogs are currently in second and third place in the CUSA standings entering the weekend.
FIU has seen success at home this season as they carry an 18-5 record when playing at Felsberg Field.
FIU only has 12 home runs on the season as Byrd leads the team with four. The Panthers lead the CUSA in stolen bases, having swiped 105 in 120 attempts. Kally Meredith leads the team with 36 steals in 37 attempts.
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Tennis
Louisiana Tech is set to host two doubleheaders at the LA Tech Tennis Complex this weekend, starting with back-to-back matches today versus Liberty (11 a.m.) and Grambling State (3 p.m.)
It will be Senior Day as the Bulldogs celebrate the four-year career of their lone senior Ana Rodrigues. The senior ceremony will take place in between matches at approximately 2:30 p.m.
The contests can be viewed at LATechSports.com/TennisStream
LA Tech (13-8, 3-0) had a bounce-back win this past Friday, shutting out Kennesaw State at home by a final score of 4-0. With the victory, the Bulldogs improved to 3-0 versus CUSA competition this spring.
The ‘Dogs claimed points on court two, five, and six to improve to 59-40 in dual singles this season. Zoie Epps picked up the victory at No. 2, winning in straight sets for her 19th win of the spring which is tied for the second most in program history. The sophomore has won eight straight, all via straight sets.
