Bulldogs stunned by Liberty in quarterfinals

If Louisiana Tech is going to win the Conference USA Baseball Tournament, the Bulldogs will have to do it the hard way.

Liberty stunned Tech 6-2 in the CUSA quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, sending the Bulldogs into a win-or-go-home matchup with Sam Houston in the final game of the day on Friday. With the loss, Tech will now have to win three games to advance to the championship game on Sunday.

LA Tech (42-16) had a quiet day at the plate, putting up just six hits, the only extra-base hits being a Cole McConnell double in the first and a Jorge Corona two-run home run in the eighth. McConnell's blast to left didn't result in early momentum for Tech, as the Bulldogs stranded runners at first and third to start the day. In the end, it told the story of the game for the Bulldogs - with the top seed going 2-11 with runners on base.

By game's end, Tech hit 6-34 at the dish.

"One of those games. We got beat," Tech head coach Lane Burroughs said. "I didn't think we played particularly bad. I thought Luke - ball was coming out of his hand really well and they got on a couple balls. They got power. They play in a big ballpark. Our's plays more offensive and they got on them. It was one of those days. They out-played but we hit some balls really hard."

"We had our opportunities. We had first and third, one out, in the first," Burroughs added. "We were right there to get a run in, maybe two. Weren't able to do it. And then we had the bases loaded later in the game and weren't able to get anything across. You gotta credit their guy. He pitched extremely well."

Tech starter Luke Nichols looked strong early with 5 strikeouts through 2 innings, but the fun didn’t last much longer for the junior southpaw. With two outs in the third, Liberty jumped ahead 1-0 thanks to an RBI single to center, only to blow the game open on back-to-back home runs in the fourth, including a 418-foot solo shot to left, for a 4-0 lead.

Camden Troyer picked up where he left off from his 7-RBI game against Sam Houston for a two-run shot. He finished 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Nichols finished his day after 5 innings, allowing 4 earned runs to go with 8 strikeouts by the time the damage was done.

"I'm better," Nichols said of his start. "Give up four runs in five innings. Didn't really give my team a chance to win. I'll be back out there."

Corona kept Tech from being shutout with a two-run home run to left in the eighth to cut it to 5-2 - his 15th of the year to put him at 44 RBIs on the year.

"Even if we lost, I don't think there's much pressure on us," Corona said. "We're comfortable in this spot. I think we just keep it going."

Tech had chances to score earlier, leaving runners on first and third in the first with Michael Ballard flying out to left field, and left the bases loaded in the fourth with two outs on a ground out.

With Nichols off the bump, Connor Nation, Blake Hooks, and Greg Martinez combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief going into the ninth, while Caden Copeland gave up a run after facing four batters in the eighth. Martinez wobbled in the ninth with Liberty smacking a solo home runto  put the finishing touches on its win. 

Nick Moran for Liberty went a season-high 7 1/3 innings for the Flames, holding Tech to 2 runs to go with 6 strikeouts in his appearance.

Facing elimination, Burroughs is confident in his group to respond.

"We've been in this situation before. We were in this situation three years ago," Burroughs said. "We lost game two and we had to beat Southern Miss twice. We had to come through the loser’s bracket. We were able to do it and get to the championship game. We're at home and I expect us to be playing on Sunday. It's all hands on deck. If you lose you're eliminated from the tournament. We've been before. Our guys will respond. We always do."

Tech left runners on first and third in the first with Michael Ballard flying out to left field, and left the bases loaded in the fourth with two outs.

LA Tech plays the winner of Sam Houston and Liberty on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.