#20 DBU (28-12, 11-4 CUSA) at LOUISIANA TECH (25-15, 10-4 CUSA)
April 25-27 | Ruston, LA | J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park

GAME NOTES (PDF)

GAME COVERAGE
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
X: @DBU_Baseball
Instagram: @dbu_baseball
Facebook: DBU Baseball

PROBABLE STARTERS
DBU: 
Friday: RHP Micah Bucknam 6-1, 3.38 ERA, 56.0 IP, 76 SO, 21 B
Saturday: RHP James Ellwanger 2-1, 3.75 ERA, 33.2 IP, 53 SO, 23 BB 
Sunday: RHP Ryan Borberg 4-4, 4.47 ERA, 44.1 IP, 44 SO, 10 BB

LA TECH:
Friday: LHP Luke Cooley 5-2, 3.40 ERA, 47.2 IP, 56 SO, 21 BB
Saturday: RHP Brooks Roberson 4-1, 3.78 ERA, 47.2 IP, 43 SO, 20 BB
Sunday: TBA

SERIES HISTORY

- The series between DBU and Louisiana Tech is knotted at 17 wins apiece.

- The Patriots took the most recent meeting, a 17-10 slugfest in last season's CUSA Championship in Ruston.

PATRIOT STORYLINES

- CUSA Hitter of the Week: DBU's Keaton Grady was named the CUSA Hitter of the Week on Monday. The Patriots' redshirt junior hit a team-high .765 (13-17) last week.

- RPI Rising: DBU continues to bolster its postseason résumé, climbing to No. 28 in the latest RPI rankings released by D1Baseball.

- CUSA Title Hunt: The Patriots are tied with Western Kentucky atop the Conference USA standings, setting the stage for a critical weekend against a Louisiana Tech team that is a half-game back of DBU and WKU.

- Potent Offense: DBU ranks 9th nationally in home runs (77) and 7th in slugging percentage (.567). The Patriots are also averaging 9.2 runs per game, good for 13th-best in the nation.

Golden Spikes Watch: DBU's all-time home run leader, Grant Jay, is one of 45 players recently named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.

- Five-Tool Threat: Center fielder Nathan Humphreys is the first player in program history with 200 career hits, 30 home runs, 40 doubles, and 40 stolen bases. Defensively, Humphreys has made only four errors in 432 career chances.

- RBI Machines: First baseman Chayton Krauss and Humphreys lead CUSA with 52 RBI apiece. Krauss is on pace to lead the team in RBI for a second straight year.

- Grady's Hot Streak: Since cracking the lineup on March 8, Keaton Grady is scorching hot. Over his last 15 games, he's hitting .552 (32-58), including a career-high five-hit game at New Mexico State on March 29.

- Friday Night Force: DBU ace Micah Bucknam ranks 14th nationally in strikeouts and his 3.38 ERA is the sixth-lowest in CUSA.

- Defensive Excellence: The Patriots are one of the nation's top defensive squads, ranked 12th in fielding percentage (.980) - just a tick off last year's program-best of .982.

SCOUTING LOUISIANA TECH

- The Bulldogs hold a 25-15 overall record two months into the 2025 season. 

- LA Tech sits at 20-4 in CUSA play following a 2-1 series win over Liberty. Despite the series win, both schools plated 14 runs across the weekend.

- The Bulldog pitching staff currently rocks a team ERA of 4.85. 

- RHPs Logan Forsythe and Nate Crider lead the team with 18 appearances. Forsythe has the prettier ERA, sporting a 4.40 clip.

- Blake Hooks anchors the back end of the LA Tech bullpen. Hooks leads the team with seven saves and a team-low 2.20 ERA. However, Hooks owns a 3.85 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), which is an ERA adjustor that only factors in outcomes that pitchers can control directly (SO, BB, HBP, HR).

- The LA Tech lineup only features two qualified hitters with an OPS over .900: Trey Hawsey (1.014), and Sebastian Mexico (.940).

- The Bulldogs have swatted 43 total home runs through 40 games. Michael Ballard leads the group with six big flies, followed by four hitters with five to their name.

- Louisiana Tech isn't crazily active in the stolen base department, averaging 1.35 steal attempts per game. They pick their spots well, currently rocking a team-wide 83.3% success rate on steals. Garrison Berkley and Will Safford are the only Bulldogs with more than ten attempts.

ON DECK
The Patriots return home for a four-game homestand. DBU will host the Abilene Christian Wildcats (24-15, 8-7 WAC) on Tuesday and the Florida International Panthers (23-18, 6-8 CUSA) over the weekend.