LA Tech clinches series over UAB, spot in tourney

RUSTON — Louisiana Tech stitched together a 7-4 harder-than-it-looked victory over UAB on a blue-sky Saturday afternoon before 2,026 fans at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park to clinch the three-game series and nail down a for-sure spot in the Conference USA Tournament.

The Bulldogs never had the lead until a three-run seventh made it 5-4. Ethan Bates, whose 12th home run of the season pulled the Dogs to within a run, 3-2, in the sixth, then came on to pitch the eighth to protect the lead. He struck out the side on 11 pitches.

Bates then got the Blazers 1-2-3 in the ninth for his ninth save after the Bulldogs had spotted the junior righthander two more runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Tech is 24-24 overall and, at 12-10, tied for third in CUSA with Charlotte, a 10-9 loser to FAU Saturday. UAB is 14-31 and 5-18.

Caden Copeland pitched 1.2 innings and struck out three Saturday to pick up his first collegiate win. Sophomore starter Ryan Harland gave up two runs in 4.2 innings, Alec Sparks gave up a run and struck out two in 0.2 innings, and Copeland and Bates closed it out backed by Tech batters coming alive for six runs in the final three innings.

“(Ryan) gave us just what we needed as our starter,” Tech coach Lane Burroughs said. “He was very efficient. Sparks kept us in the ballgame, and then I thought Cade was just outstanding and Ethan was electric. Offensively, we did enough to win.

“As tough as things have been on our team-we haven’t played our best ball all the time-we’ve won every series but Dallas Baptist and Charlotte with a couple weeks to go,” he said. “Real proud of how these guys responded today.”

UAB took a 1-0 lead in the third on a two-out single and double off Harland, the sophomore lefthander making his first start of the season and the second of his career, but the Bulldogs tied it in the bottom of the inning when Colton Hegwood doubled, moved to third on a Dalton Davis single, and scored on a Logan McLeod ground out.

The Bulldogs thought they had earned more later in the inning when Davis appeared to beat a throw home but was called out, and Burroughs was tossed by home plate umpire Augustus Griffin after a short but fierce argument.

“With the wind blowing in and (UAB starter Blayze Berry) throwing pretty good, I felt like that was a huge call,” Burroughs said. “He was safe; the guy missed the call. I don’t want to get thrown out there but everyone in the park knew every run would be important in that game. If we don’t get those runs late, that might have been the difference.”

Tech did get those runs late, but not until other types of fireworks.

UAB pushed across a run on two leadoff singles and a pair of infield outs to make it 2-1 in the fourth and threatened in the fifth. After Harland walked a pair with two out, Sparks relieved and caught 5-hole hitter Darryl Buggs looking to end the threat.

The Blazers scored a run off Sparks in the sixth and loaded the bases with one out before Copeland, a sophomore lefty, came in to get a pair of huge strikeouts against the Blazers’ lefthanded 2- and 3-hole batters.

Trailing 3-1 going into the bottom of the inning, Tech lost its catcher, Jorge Corona, quickly ejected for arguing a called check-swing third strike. He’ll serve a one-game suspension and sit out Sunday’s contest.

“I’ll always have Jorge’s back,” Burroughs said. “He’s fighting for his team, one of those heat-of-the-moment things. I thought Ethan’s homer right after that sort of fired the team up.”

Bates followed Corona’s dismissal with a missile pulled down the line that hit off the top of the right field fence and bounced over to get the Dogs within a run at 3-2.

UAB made it 4-2 with a single run in the top of the seventh off two hits and an error, the prelude to Tech’s big inning.

Going into Tech’s half of the seventh, freshman righthander Tyler O’Clair relieved starter Berry, who’d given up two runs on four hits, walked three and struck out six. O’Clair hit Will Safford and walked Hegwood, then gave way to junior lefty Christian Clack, who walked Davis to load the bases with nobody out. Then McLeod bounced a single over second to score two and tie it, Brody Drost was hit by a pitch, and the bases remained loaded with no one out in a 4-4 tie.

That led to the third Blazer pitcher of the half inning, senior righty Leo Harris, 1-0 in 16 appearances and the team leader in ERA at 2.63. Kyle Hasler, who’d replaced Corona behind the plate, grounded into a double play but Davis scored and Tech had its first lead of the game, 5-4.

One out singles by Adarius Myers and Safford and a two-out, two-RBI single by Davis in the eighth, plus the right arm of Bates, ended it.

Landon Tomkins, 5-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 24 appearances, will start the final game of the series against UAB Sunday at 1 p.m.