20 Hits, Not Enough: Tech Falls to Sam Houston in Wild C-USA Slugfest
The opening round of pool play at the Conference USA Tournament in Kennesaw, Georgia got off to a rough start for Louisiana Tech on Wednesday morning.
In a marathon contest that stretched three hours and 52 minutes, Sam Houston outlasted the Diamond Dogs in a wild 14-13 thriller.
The loss drops Tech to 33-24 on the season, and the Bulldogs will need significant outside help to advance out of pool play as the week progresses.
Sam Houston struck first, plating two runs off starter Declan Dahl in the top of the first. Tech answered immediately — Eli Berch launched a towering 426-foot shot to left field, and just like that the Bulldogs led 3-2.
Dahl’s afternoon was a short one. The right-hander battled command issues throughout his outing, surrendering four runs on four hits and four walks across 2.2 innings before exiting with a no-decision.
Trailing 4-3 in the third, Tech surged back in front in emphatic fashion. Matt Houston and Wesley Scott went back-to-back to push the lead to 6-4. The Bulldogs kept the foot on the gas in the fourth, with Berch, Sebastian Mexico, Houston, Casey McCoy, and Cade Patterson all driving in runs to balloon the advantage to 11-5.
Sam Houston chipped away with a three-run sixth to make it 11-8, but Tech still appeared to be in control heading into the late innings.
That changed in a hurry in the eighth. With a three-run cushion, the Bulldogs turned to closer Thomas Allen — and for the first time all season, the freshman faltered. Allen failed to record a single out, allowing six earned runs on two hits and four walks as Sam Houston erupted for a stunning 14-11 advantage.
Scott gave Tech fans a glimmer of hope with his second home run of the game, a two-run blast that narrowed the gap to 14-13. But the comeback would fall one run short.
Offensively, the Bulldogs had no shortage of firepower. Eight of nine starters recorded multiple hits as Tech pounded out 20 total, with Berch pacing the lineup with four RBI. The pitching told a different story, however — Tech issued 10 walks, six of which came around to score, proving to be the decisive difference in a game that felt like it could have gone either way.
The Bulldogs return to action Friday morning against Liberty, with first pitch set for 9:00 AM CT on ESPN+/SportsTalk 97.7 FM.
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