RUSTON, La. – Wichita State put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth inning, but couldn’t bring them home as Louisiana Tech completed the three-game sweep with a 5-3 win on Sunday afternoon at Pat Patterson Park.
Trailing by a pair entering the eighth, the Shockers (0-3) put their first two men aboard in the inning via a walk and a single. Sawyre Thornhill followed with a base hit of his own, but Brock Rodden was thrown out at the plate by Louisiana Tech left fielder Philip Matulia for the first out. Payton Tolle drew a walk to load the bases, but Bulldogs closer Kyle Crigger fanned the next two to stymie the threat.
Despite a one-out single in the top of the ninth from Seth Stroh, Crigger again retired two in succession to nail down his first save of the season.
Louisiana Tech (1-0) struck first in the first on a Matulia solo homer, though the Shockers promptly answered back with a tally of their own in the second. Tolle reached second when a dropped third strike was thrown away, advanced to third on a groundout, and came in to score on a wild pitch from La Tech starter Jarret Whorff.
Cole McConnell put the Bulldogs back in front in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run single, and a wild pitch plated another to make it 4-1.
The Shockers put together a crooked number inning of their own in the top of the fifth. Jordan Rogers picked up his first collegiate hit with a leadoff double, then Stroh coaxed a walk before Cadena was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Brock Rodden drove home a run with a sacrifice fly, and Couper Cornblum followed by legging out an infield single to trim the lead to 4-3.
Louisiana Tech got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a two-out RBI single from Adarius Myers for the final margin.
Greg Martinez (1-0) picked up the win for the Bulldogs with three innings of scoreless relief, while Shockers starter Will Stevens (0-1) was saddled with the loss, allowing four runs in two-plus innings. Caden Favors, Cameron Bye, Creighton Hansen and Connor Holden all made their first appearances of the season out of the Wichita State bullpen, surrendering just one unearned run over six combined frames.
The Shockers continue the season-opening road swing with a midweek game at Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
