La.Tech baseball hits the road

RUSTON – Another busy week is set to begin for Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs will play five road games over the course of the next seven days, beginning with a pair of midweek matchups at Stephen F. Austin and ULM on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The slate begins Tuesday with the Bulldogs making the trip to Nacogdoches, Texa,s to take on Stephen F. Austin in a 6:30 p.m. contest at Jaycees Field. Tech will then make the short trip down I-20 to face ULM at 6 p.m. at Warhawk Field in Monroe.

The Bulldogs enter the week with a 17-19 overall record and have won eight consecutive non-conference games dating back to March 6. Despite the Bulldogs struggling in league play as of late, Tech is currently 13-6 in non-conference games this season.

Stephen F. Austin comes into Tuesday’s game having lost eight of its last nine games with a 13-27 overall record, while ULM is 20-19 on the season, including a 17-9 mark on its home field.

Tuesday marks the first of two games the Bulldogs will play against Stephen F. Austin as the Lumberjacks will travel to Ruston next Tuesday. Tech and ULM have faced once this season, which resulted in a 3-2 win for the Bulldogs in Ruston.

Louisiana Tech is looking to win its third straight over Stephen F. Austin when the two teams face off Tuesday night in Nacogdoches, while the Bulldogs currently lead the all-time series, 17-9, over the Lumberjacks, including two consecutive wins over SFA dating back to the 2013 baseball season. With Tech’s win over ULM earlier this season, the Bulldogs have now won four straight over the Warhawks going into Wednesday night’s meeting in Monroe.

Tech is set to send sophomore right-hander Braden Bristo to the mound Tuesday against Stephen F. Austin, while senior right-hander Austin Greer will get the start for the Bulldogs Wednesday against ULM. Bristo enters the game with a 1-2 record and 6.83 ERA, with his best outing of the season coming April 8 against UALR when he earned the win after pitching seven innings and allowing one run on six hits. Greer enters Wednesday with a 6.35 ERA in eight appearances. In his last start, Greer struck out a career-high eight batters in seven innings.

Louisiana Tech is looking to continue its streak of eight straight non-conference wins, and in order to do so, will need to continue to strive for consistency at the plate. Bryce Stark continues to pace the Bulldogs offensively with a team-leading .306 average with five doubles, three home runs and team-high 22 runs batted in. Stark enters the week with a 22-game reached base streak, while outfielder/designated hitter Bre’shon Kimbell has also been hot at the plate lately with a .467 clip in the last five games. Kimbell is currently on a five-game hitting streak and eight-game reached base streak.