Dawgs Dominate Doubleheader

RUSTON, La. - The Louisiana Tech baseball team dominated its doubleheader against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday with two lob-sided wins. The Bulldogs took Game 1 in an offensive explosion 18-0 in seven innings and won Game 2 with a quicker lineup and defensive mishaps by the Golden Lions for a 22-3 victory. Tech (5-3) had its bats spray the ball all over the field in Game 1 with a season-high 19 hits. Albie Goulder had his first shinning night at the plate this season hitting 4-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs. All his RBIs came on a two- and three-run homer. Third baseman Courtney Jones continued his breakout season with Tech hitting 4-for-5 with a home run and three doubles. He scored three times and drove in three as well. Jericho Jones had his second homer of the season in the win, and Brian Rike also went yard for the second time this year. Tech coach Wade Simoneaux said seeing the bats dominate was nice to see against some slower pitching from UAPB (0-2). "We had to make a lot of adjustments," Simoneaux said. "That was softer pitching than were used to seeing. We told them they would have to wait on a pitch deep in the zone and create bat speed. Once we made the adjustment, we scored 15 runs in two innings." Andrew Lassere won the game in his first start of the season throwing five innings and allowing just one hit. Lassere struck out seven batters with one walk. Luke Burnett threw one inning of relief in Game 1 with two strikeouts, and Rike threw the final inning giving up one hit. In Game 2, Tech started a completely different lineup except for Rike. Rike played the first four innings of the game. Simoneaux said the second lineup was built around speed and contact hitting. The Bulldogs took advantage with multiple hit-and-runs in the early innings to advance runners quickly and score. The speed on the paths paid off for Tech when Simoneaux called a double steal with Rike on second and Nick Grunenwald on third. Grunenwald stole home to score, and on the next pitch Rike swiped home as well. Simoneaux said it was a matter of their pitcher throwing from the windup and allowing them the opportunity to steal home. Tech took advantage of six UAPB errors in Game 2 and scored nine unearned runs as a result. The Bulldogs had some defensive miscues of their own with three errors, and all three of the Golden Lions runs were unearned. At the plate for Tech in Game 2, Brady Bascle led the way hitting 4-for-6 with two runs and three RBIs. Many of Bascles hit came in the infield on slow rollers and choppers. He also reached on an error. Drew Bunting hit 3-for-6 with three runs and RBIs in the contest. Techs pitching was solid throughout the evening, allowing a combined five hits over the two games. Simoneaux was particularly pleased with how well the hurlers pitched in Game 2 with Dylan Moseley getting the start, and Jeffrey DeAlejandro and Alan Knotts throwing in relief. Moseley got the win in five innings of work with one hit and five strikeouts. DeAlejandro threw one inning, and Knotts threw three with six strikeouts. Simoneaux was most pleased with his teams ability to keep the heat on UAPB the entire night. "We stayed focused for both games and kept scoring runs," Simoneaux said. "This team takes a lot of pride in their at-bats, and you can tell by all the competition at the positions." Tech returns to action in another mid-week afternoon game against Jackson State at 3 p.m. Wednesday at J.C. Love Field.