RUSTON, La. (Sept. 27, 2016) – Coming off of the first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in program history, the path for the 2017 Louisiana Tech baseball team was revealed on Tuesday morning by head coach Lane Burroughs.
LA Tech fans will have the opportunity to see the Bulldogs play 29 games at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park, highlighted by two mid-week games against Arkansas out of the Southeastern Conference on February 28 and March 1. The last time Louisiana Tech hosted an opponent from the SEC was the 2007 season-opener when the Razorbacks travelled to Ruston for a three-game series, which saw the Bulldogs take a game from a top-five nationally-ranked Arkansas.
“I’m really excited about the 2017 schedule,” Burroughs said. “A lot of it was done before I got the job, but we were able to add some quality opponents in Arkansas and Wichita State for home series. This gives our fans an opportunity to see two traditional powers right here at the Love Shack.”
The 56-game schedule will see the Bulldogs take the field in eight different states and in nine games against teams that competed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Louisiana Tech will open the season on Friday, February 17 at the Love Shack against Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a three-game series with the Golden Lions. The following week, on February 21, LA Tech will host Little Rock in the first mid-week game of the season.
“Our midweek opponents will always be quality and challenging due to where we are located,” Burroughs remarked. “There are great programs in this part of the country and they really place an emphasis on baseball.”
The Bulldogs will spend their second weekend of the season on the road for a three-game set with UT-Arlington beginning on Friday, February 24. Following the two mid-week games against Arkansas, LA Tech hosts Wichita State for a three game series on March 3.
“I really believe your early season schedule should prepare you for post season play and what you could possibly face at the end of the year,” Burroughs said.
On March 7, Louisiana Tech will travel to familiar Starkville, Mississippi for a mid-week match up with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs will stay on the road and travel to Arkansas State for their final non-conference series on March 10.
After mid-week games on March 14 against Grambling State and March 15 against UL-Lafayette, LA Tech opens Conference USA-play at home on March 17 against rival-Southern Miss. Tech will also welcome conference-foes UTSA, UAB, WKU and Marshall to J.C. Love Field for weekend series.
Louisiana Tech will hit the road for conference series against Charlotte, Rice, Old Dominion, Florida International and Middle Tennessee.
“Our league continues to get better and better,” Burroughs continued. “I’m excited about being back in C-USA and playing quality opponents on the weekend. There are some tremendous coaches and players in this league.”
The Bulldogs’ schedule features eight mid-week games against teams from the state of Louisiana. Those eight games include home-and-home series with UL-Lafayette, UL-Monroe and McNeese State. LA Tech will also host Grambling State, twice.
From April 5 through April 19, the Bulldogs will play nine-of-ten games away from Ruston, starting in Lake Charles with a mid-week game against McNeese State on April 5.
After a three-game trip to Houston to face Rice, the Bulldogs will return to North Louisiana for an I-20 mid-week battle with UL-Monroe on April 11. LA Tech will then gear up for a weekend series at Old Dominion on April 14. After returning home for a mid-week game against McNeese State on April 18, LA Tech finishes the road stretch at Little Rock on April 19.
Louisiana Tech will wrap up the regular season with a three-game series on the road at Middle Tennessee, beginning on May 18.
The 2017 Conference USA Baseball Championship will be held from May 23-28 at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi.
2017 Louisiana Tech Baseball Schedule
