RUSTON, La. – The ULM baseball team could not keep up with host Louisiana Tech on Tuesday night as the teams combined for 20 total hits, but the Warhawks fell 12-3 to the host Bulldogs in the first of two midweek meetings between the two schools this season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: La. Tech 12, ULM 3
LOCATION: Love Field, Patterson Park / Ruston, Louisiana
RECORDS: ULM (8-18, 3-3 SBC)
La. Tech (16-6, 0-3 CUSA)
TURNING POINT
-Tied at three after three innings, Louisiana Tech posted back-to-back two run innings in the fourth and fifth innings to gain some breathing room before adding five runs in the bottom seventh to pull away as the hosts finished with seven extra-base hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Louisiana Tech opened the night with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, via an RBI groundout and a pair of RBI singles, before ULM responded with three runs in the top of the second inning to tie things up. In the second, the Warhawks saw Anthony Herrera deliver a two-run single to pull within one run before Cade Stone tallied an RBI single of his own moments later to knot the game at three-all.
-Louisiana Tech would take the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth with two runs, on an RBI single and run-scoring double, before the hosts added two more runs in the bottom fifth on a sacrifice fly and a RBI single.
-The hosts posted five runs in the bottom seventh on four home runs to bring the game to its final score.
-Spencer Hemphill and Stone each had multiple hits in the loss, while Johnny DeLaCruz, Chad Bell, Cade Harper, and Herrera had one hit each.
-ULM used seven pitchers on Tuesday night, with Chase Cater's 2 2/3 innings of relief the longest outing of the group. Freshman Cole Trichel did not factor in the decision after his first collegiate start, as fellow freshman Kyle Backofen, the first of the relievers, was saddled with the loss.
-Louisiana Tech had four players with multi-hit games, including three-hit nights from Sean Ullrich and Dalton Skelton, in the win.
UP NEXT
-The Warhawks step back into Sun Belt Conference play with a trip to Georgia Southern this weekend for a three-game series, with 5:30 p.m. CST starts on Friday and Saturday before a noon first pitch in Sunday's series finale.
