Why Louisiana Tech baseball will – and won’t – win Austin NCAA Regional

Emely Hernandez, Monroe News-Star
·3 min read

Louisiana Tech baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament but not as a regional host.

The Bulldogs will join No. 9 overall seed Texas (42-19), Air Force (30-27) and Dallas Baptist (34-22-1) in the Austin Regional starting Friday. This marks the 16th regional appearance and third since 2016 for Tech, which hosted a regional in Ruston last season.

Tech will open play against Dallas Baptist on Friday (6:30 p.m., ESPN+).

NCAA TOURNAMENT: Louisiana Tech baseball opens NCAA Tournament in Austin Regional vs. Dallas Baptist, Schedule

NCAA REGIONALS: 2022 NCAA baseball regional pairings: Here's the TV schedule, start times

The Bulldogs are the region's No. 2 seed after winning their first Conference USA tournament championship in school history. The title and automatic bid were secured by a walk-off single from Steele Netterville to beat USTA 9-8 on Sunday.

"We were sweating, going to a regional all month but it was there all along, we just had to win the tournament," Louisiana Tech baseball coach Lane Borroughs said.

Kyle Crigger in for closing time

If Tech is to advance past the regional round, it will be in part because of reliever Kyle Crigger, right-handed pitcher who has led the La Tech bullpen with a 1.79 ERA and 0.99 WHIP and has recorded nine saves.

With 35 appearances and 65⅓ innings pitched, Crigger has struck out 74 hitters. If Louisiana Tech wants to use Crigger for closing situations, the way it has for much of the season, then holding some powerful lineups at bay in the early going will be a must.

Texas ranks third in the nation in batting average (.321) and fourth in home runs (112). Air Force ranks ninth batting average (.316) and 28th in home runs (84).

Louisiana Tech outfielder Steele Netterville (30) celebrates his three-run home Ron with Louisiana Tech infielder Taylor Young (8) during an NCAA baseball game against Nicholls on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Thibodaux, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Louisiana Tech outfielder Steele Netterville (30) celebrates his three-run home Ron with Louisiana Tech infielder Taylor Young (8) during an NCAA baseball game against Nicholls on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Thibodaux, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Hot hitters in Austin Regional

If Louisiana Tech is to advance, a shootout or two may be necessary.

Texas and Air Force rank among the top 10 nationally in hits and top 15 in runs.

Air Force's Sam Kulasingam enters with the second most hits (98) in the nation. Texas' Murphy Stehly is tied for 10th with 88 hits. Ivan Melendez, dubbed the "Hispanic Titanic" leads the nation in home runs (29) and is second in batting average (.415).

Bulldogs etching names into records

But the 2022 Bulldogs have been steady at the plate and are taking over the Louisiana Tech all-time program record books.

Taylor Young has lead the Tech offense in batting average (.358), OPS (1.138), runs (86) and is tied for the lead in hits (81). He holds the program's single-season runs record, the career hits (291) and runs (269) records.

Cole McConnell has the single-season RBI record (74), breaking a mark  set in 1988. One of the clutch hitters for Tech, he is averaging .332 with 81 hits and 50 runs scored this season.

Netterville broke the program doubles record (62) and joins four other Bulldogs with 40 or more career home runs -- he has 14 on the season.

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: Why Louisiana Tech baseball can and can't make the Super Regional