Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech will close out their final road Conference USA series of the regular season this weekend, traveling to face Liberty for a three-game set at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
The Bulldogs (29-21, 15-9 CUSA) and Flames (35-14, 18-6) are scheduled to open the series Friday at 5 p.m. CT before continuing Saturday at 2 p.m. CT and concluding Sunday at noon CT.
LA Tech enters the weekend coming off a 12-1 midweek victory over Northwestern State Demons, its sixth straight win over Northwestern State and largest margin of victory against the Demons since a 15-3 home win during the 2009 season. The Bulldogs rebounded from dropping the rubber game of last weekend’s series at Dallas Baptist Patriots.
The Bulldogs won last season’s home series against Liberty and also eliminated the Flames from the 2025 CUSA Championship in Lynchburg. LA Tech swept Liberty during the programs’ first meeting in 2024 before the Flames claimed an opening-round conference tournament matchup later that season. The Bulldogs responded with consecutive elimination-game victories over Liberty on the way to a CUSA championship game appearance.
Matt Houston has paced the Bulldogs offensively entering the series, driving in 10 runs over the last five games while batting .615 during that stretch. The senior also carries a nine-game hitting streak into the weekend after recording two doubles and two RBI in Tuesday’s win over Northwestern State.
Houston leads LA Tech with a .347 batting average and .792 slugging percentage while totaling nine home runs and 19 RBI in 27 appearances this season.
Sebastian Mexico added two doubles and four RBI in the midweek victory, marking his sixth game this season with at least four RBI. Mexico is batting .285 with 41 hits and 24 RBI on the year.
Liberty enters the weekend after winning seven straight CUSA weekend series, with its lone conference series loss coming earlier this season at Missouri State. The Flames swept New Mexico State Aggies last weekend before falling to Virginia Tech Hokies in a midweek contest Tuesday.
Flames ace Ben Blair ranks second in Conference USA in both strikeouts and innings pitched with 91 strikeouts across 71.1 innings. Blair, the preseason favorite for CUSA Pitcher of the Year, owns a 3.15 ERA.
Liberty’s Zayac Bradley enters the series with a 7-0 record in 11 starts, tying LA Tech pitcher Declan Dahl for the conference lead in wins. Bradley carries a 3.13 ERA into the weekend.
Offensively, the Flames are led by Tanner Marsh, Jordan Jaffe and Nick Barone, all of whom are batting above .300. Marsh ranks fourth in CUSA with a .366 average while leading the conference in triples (five) and runs scored (60). Barone leads Liberty with 10 home runs and 50 RBI.
