WICHITA, Kan. — Louisiana Tech took advantage of 17 walks and banged out 13 extra-base hits to roll past Wichita State 27-12 on Friday night at Eck Stadium.
The 27 runs are the third most allowed in Wichita State program history and the most in the modern era of the program. The 17 walks are the second most in program history, behind a 23-walk game against Lamar in 1985.
The two teams traded five-run first innings, as Louisiana Tech (10-8) took an early lead thanks in large part to a three-run homer from Eli Berch, but Wichita State (6-12) got a three-run homer of their own from Josh Livingston as they plated five to tie the game, 5-5. The Bulldogs scored the next 16 runs, hammering out nine in the third and seven more in the fourth. Eight of the nine runs in the third inning came with two outs against Shocker starter Grant Adler (1-1), who was tagged for 12 runs in 2.2 innings.
Trailing 21-5, Wichita State got as close as down 10 with a run in the fourth, four in the sixth and two in the seventh. Camden Johnson and Logan Kreske highlighted the spurt, as Johnson rapped out a career-high-tying four hits and Kreske came off the bench with two hits and three RBI.
Louisiana Tech restored their lead with six runs over the final three innings.
Connor Nation (1-1) earned the win despite allowing four runs in two innings, as Bulldogs starter Grant Hubka exited after 3.1 frames. Bryce Dolby earned a save by pitching the final three innings, allowing two runs, one earned.
Five different Louisiana Tech players recorded three hits, led by Michael Ballard with two home runs and Berch with seven RBI. Livingston drove in four runs to lead WSU, while Johnson scored four runs.
The Shockers and Bulldogs continue the series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch of game two is scheduled for 2:00 pm CT.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
