Louisiana Tech, Off To Best Start In Program History, Faces Key Test

Image credit: Ethan Bates (Photo courtesy of Louisiana Tech)

Following Sunday’s victory in Sugarland, Texas, against Air Force to complete a perfect weekend in the Battle at The BallPark Tournament, Louisiana Tech coach Lane Burroughs gathered his players. The Bulldogs had just improved to 11-0, the best start in program history and its longest winning streak in more than 30 years.

Burroughs, LA Tech’s eighth-year coach, told his team to enjoy the win—for the day. Come Monday, the Bulldogs would have to start getting ready for their most challenging week of non-conference play this season. They would return home for two midweek games against Xavier, the reigning Big East Tournament champion, and a weekend series against Southern Miss.

“I told them it’s big-boy baseball this week,” Burroughs said. “Xavier is dangerous, they’re a good team, a good program. With Southern Miss, you know they’re going to pitch.

“This is probably the biggest week on the schedule, at least leading up to conference play. Come Sunday, we’ll know more about who we are.”

LA Tech won its first game against Xavier to run its winning streak to 12 games before losing Wednesday, 6-4. While that loss dropped the Bulldogs from the ranks of the unbeatens, their run to start the season was still eye-opening, especially after a tough 2023 that saw them go 28-31. It was their first losing season since 2015 and came on the heels of back-to-back 40-win seasons that produced NCAA Tournament appearances.

So, to wipe any lingering disappointment from a year ago with the best start in program history was quite satisfying for LA Tech. It was one of the last five remaining undefeated teams, joining Florida State (11-0), Texas A&M (13-0), TCU (13-0) and UC Irvine (10-0). LA Tech’s 12-game winning streak matched the third-longest in program history, ending just shy of 13-game streaks in 1987 and 1978.

The hot start isn’t just a product of an easy schedule, either. While it’s true that LA Tech has yet to play a team from a major conference, it has played five games against teams that finished last season in the top 50 of the RPI.

The biggest difference for the Bulldogs this season has come on the mound. They rank fourth in the nation in team ERA (2.48), a massive improvement from last year when they ranked 164th (6.06). That improvement happened even while losing lefthander Jonathan Fincher, one of the best pitchers in program history.

Burroughs credited the hard work of pitching coach/recruiting coordinator Cooper Fouts to engineer the turnaround.

“Last year he took some lumps, he took his heat and so did the pitching staff,” Burroughs said. “Around here, we’ve got a saying, ‘If you get backed into a corner, you either come out fighting or you quit.’

“He’s worked his tail off.”

Fouts after last season went to work both in recruiting and coaching. The Bulldogs brought in some impact transfers, both from junior colleges and four-year schools. Lefthander Luke Nichols (junior college) and righthander Turner Swistak (Tennessee) stepped right into the rotation, while righthander Sam Brodersen (Wingate) has taken on a key relief role. Righthanders Caden Copeland and Reed Smith both took a step forward into larger roles, Copeland moving from the bullpen to midweek starter and Smith from midweek starter to the weekend rotation. And the whole staff has again been bolstered by the comfort of having two-way star Ethan Bates ready to close games out.

Despite the relative inexperience of that group—none of the weekend starters had pitched in that role before and Copeland had not started a game prior to this season—the result has been a strong core on the mound.

“The work coach Fouts has done and the work they’ve done, they’re all seeing the fruits of their labor right now,” Burroughs said. “They all worked extremely hard and bought in.”

LA Tech is more experienced offensively. It typically starts eight players who are in at least their fourth year of college baseball, including Bates and catcher Jorge Cornona, who last year were named first-team all-Conference-USA. It also got a boost with the return of outfielder Cole McConnell, who was a 2022 first-team all-CUSA player but was suspended for nearly all of last season.

LA Tech has also made a concerted effort to control the strike zone better, cutting down on its strikeouts and increasing its walks. So far, the approach is working. The Bulldogs have struck out in 12.7% of their plate appearances, down from 20.4% last season. Their rates of walks and hit-by-pitches have ticked up.

“We struck out entirely too much last season,” Burroughs said. “We preached it from day one in the fall. Our guys know the strike zone and they do a good job of extending an at-bat.”

That lineup will have its work cut out for it this weekend against Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles (8-5) have a 4.04 team ERA (43rd nationally) and under Christian Ostrander, who last June was promoted from pitching coach to head coach, they have annually been among the best pitching staffs nationally.

This weekend also pits two teams that are very familiar with each other. LA Tech and Southern Miss were both members of C-USA from 2013 until Southern Miss left for the Sun Belt following the 2022 season. By the end of that decade, they were competing at the top of the conference standings and had some contentious battles. The rivalry probably peaked in 2021 when the two teams met 11 times due to the pandemic-altered schedule and a trio of conference tournament games. Of those 11 games, seven were decided by one run.

Last year, Southern Miss’ first in the Sun Belt, the teams split home-and-home midweek games. This year and next the teams will play a weekend set. Burroughs said the teams plan to continue playing each other annually, though the format may return to a pair of midweek games.

“We want to keep it going,” he said. “It’s good for RPI, for the fans, for the players.”

The series should be one of the best of the weekend and represents a big opportunity for the Bulldogs at J.C. Love Field. Most of LA Tech’s biggest games the rest of the season are on the road, including series at Arizona and Dallas Baptist. This weekend it has the chance to use its home-field advantage and continue to build early-season momentum, finish its week of big-boy baseball strong and pick up some key wins for its eventual NCAA Tournament resume.

Most importantly for Burroughs, however, it’s another chance to see how his team responds to a challenge.

“I love the club, I love the way they go about their business,” Burroughs said. “We know we’re not going to win every game this year. This week is a true test.”