Dogs

Diamond ‘Dogs Walk Off Liberty In Series Opener

RUSTON – The Diamond ‘Dogs (24-14, 9-3 CUSA) clinched its third walk-off victory in front of the home crowd in 2025 after a dramatic comeback victory Thursday night against the Liberty Flames (23-15, 5-8 CUSA) at the Love Shack.
 

Eli Berch’s walk-off was the second one the ‘Dogs have hit in the month of April, following Sebastian Mexico’s two-run walk-off in the series opener against FIU on April 4. The last time the Bulldogs pulled off a ninth-inning comeback was just their previous Conference USA matchup at Middle Tennessee.
 
In the second game of the weekend in Murfreesboro, the ‘Dogs scored seven runs in the ninth to come back from an 8-3 deficit. A three-run homer by Mexico gave LA Tech the lead with an RBI double by Cade Patterson putting the insurance run on the board.
 

Luke Cooley tossed six scoreless innings allowing just one hit and three walks while fanning seven batters. Ryan Harland earned his first win of the season and fourth of his career after recording the final three outs to keep the Flames at bay going into the bottom of the ninth.
 
The Bulldogs and the Flames were scoreless through the first three innings of the game with just three hits combined between the two teams going into the fourth. Tech struck first when Zeb Ruddell crushed his fifth long ball of the year to give Tech a 1-0 lead.
 
Trey Hawsey and Berch drew back-to-back walks before Will Safford drove them both in with a standup triple down the right field line to put the ‘Dogs out front 3-0 going into the fifth.
 
The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the sixth after Berch led off with a base knock to left and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Brody Drost put two runners in scoring position after singling and advancing to second on a throwing error by the Liberty right fielder. Colton Coates drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases before Michael Ballard provided some insurance with a sacrifice fly and put the ‘Dogs up 4-0.
 
After a pitching change was made by Tech, Liberty loaded the bases on three-straight walks to start the seventh. Nate Crider then entered the game and punched out the next two batters before an infield single and a base-clearing double tied the game.
 
Liberty’s offense carried over to the eighth when the first two batters reached via walk and base hit. A sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position before a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch gave the Flames their first lead of the game. A walk loaded the bases again before a sacrifice fly gave Liberty its insurance run with Tech down to its final six outs.
 
The Flames kept the ‘Dogs in check by retiring the side in order in the eighth. Liberty threatened to add more runs in the ninth after the first two hitters reached on errors, but a fly out and a double play gave Tech a fighting chance with three outs to play with.
 
Liberty made a pitching change in the ninth, bringing in a hard-throwing right-hander in Tyler August whose fastball velocity was nearly 100 miles per hour. Ballard was able to knock a single over the leaping first baseman’s glove before advancing to second on a groundout.
 
Garrison Berkley was hit by a pitch before a strikeout brought up Hawsey with Tech down to its final out. On a 1-2 count, the freshman first baseman pulled a fastball down the right field line for one of the most clutch at-bats in his young collegiate career. Ballard came around to score with ease, followed closely by a speedy Berkley who just beat the tag by the catcher to tie the game.
 

Jake Smith entered the game as a pinch runner to provide Tech some extra speed in the winning run. Berch then drew a full count before pushing a base hit just past the diving second baseman, allowing Smith to score and clinch the series-opening win for the ‘Dogs.
 

The Bulldogs and the Flames return to action for Game 2 of the series on Friday, April 18 at the Love Shack. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT.

Head Coach Lane Burroughs after Thursday’s big walk-off win:
“What are going to say? Great job by our guys. I didn’t think we played particularly well—we had four errors, too many walks. I know five of their six runs were off walks or HBPs. That was disappointing, but that’s baseball. Last Friday night our bullpen won the game for us, they came in and were lights out—same guys [as tonight]. Forsythe, Crider and Hooks. Tonight, it flipped—Forsythe couldn’t find the strike zone and those things happen. I thought Crider did a good job. You ask a guy to come in [with the] bases loaded and nobody out, and he gets two punchouts. Their guy battled and ended up getting on and their best hitter gets the double. We told our guys before the game—this is the time of the year when your best players have to stand up and be counted on, and this is when you make your run. This is when teams start separating themselves, so give their guy credit. He drove a double and drove in all three, but I tip my cap to Crider. He came into a mess and almost got us out of it. We went with Hooks when the game was tied, and obviously we had to get him out—we still have a series. Harland did a good job getting that win and throwing strikes and getting big outs for us. Obviously, the last inning—what can you say about Trey Hawsey? I mean, their guy is throwing 101 miles per hour. I don’t know if I’ve seen that on our board ever. I think it was a cutter that he threw and he pulled it and thank goodness Berkley was at first because he can run. Their right fielder has a great arm—he’s got seven outfield assists this year and that’s a lot for an outfielder. Great job by Coach Wells sending him and I thought Eli did a great job with two strikes. We were down to our last strike multiple times, and Eli got it through the shift, and we win the ball game. Very proud of our fans showing up on a Thursday night, we had a great crowd. I know at times it was hard to watch, but our guys kept competing. They kept fighting. I wish everybody could’ve been in our dugout when that inning started because our guys had energy, they felt like we were going to do it. I sensed anybody was thinking we weren’t going to win the game. Obviously, we had our work cut out for us, but Ballard gets it going and we find a way to pull it out. Big win for us.”
 
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