Louisiana Tech baseball stuns Dallas Baptist 12-5 in NCAA Tournament Austin Regional opener
Louisiana Tech baseball had a rough start against Dallas Baptist, but hot hitters and an inside-the-park grand slam to rally past the early errors overwhelm the Patriots 12-5 in the Austin Regional on Friday.
For the first meeting between the two clubs in the NCAA Tournament play, the Bulldogs did not allow history to repeat itself after losing to DBU 7-4 in March.
They will continue in the winners bracket and face Texas (43-19) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+). Dallas Baptist will face Air Force (30-28) on Saturday (12 p.m., ESPN+).
WATCH: See LA Tech baseball's Jorge Corona hit inside-the-park grand slam vs. Dallas Baptist
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The Patriots (34-23-1) got on the board first with a solo home run from Missouri Valley Conference freshman of the year Nathan Humphreys in the third inning. They scored again in the top of the sixth on a three-run home run from Cole Moore and again in the eighth on an RBI single from Blayne Jones.
The Bulldogs (43-19) responded in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run from Phillip Matulia. Later in the fifth they turned up with heat with a two-RBI double from Matulia, RBI double from McConnell and a two-run home run from Jorge Corona.
Later in the sixth, Corona hit an inside-the-park grand slam to tack on four more and solidify the win. He finished 2-for-5 with a season high six RBIs, two runs scored and two home runs.
Matulia finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs including a double and a home run and scored three runs. He was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Taylor Young went 3-for-4 with two runs and two doubles. McConnell went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
The performance at the plate by the Bulldogs forced the Patriots to dig deep into the bullpen, using five pitchers. In Bubba Hall's second start of the season, he gave up four hits, four runs and struck out four in four innings.
Jonathan Fincher (8-2) started on the mound for Louisiana Tech. He threw five innings, allowing one run, four hits and striking out two. The Bulldogs used two more arms, Landon Tomkins went in for one out, allowing two hits and three runs.
Greg Martinez came in to close, throwing 3⅔ innings and allowing three hits, one run and striking out five for the save.
Emely Hernandez covers University of Louisiana-Monroe athletics and high school sports. Email her at ehernandez@thenewsstar.com and follow her on Twitter @emhernandeznews.
This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Louisiana Tech baseball routs DBU in NCAA Tournament Austin Regional
