Wesley Alig hitting the baseball at Mickey Dunn Stadium on March 22, 2026. Photo courtesy of KSU Athletics
Struggles for Owls baseball continued over the weekend, losing a series that was close throughout to Louisiana Tech at Mickey Dunn Stadium at Henssler Financial Field.
The series opener on Friday began with the Bulldogs grabbing an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single. KSU tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a solo home run by Cooper Williams, hitting the first pitch he saw over the right field fence.
The difference in the game was the explosiveness of the LTU bats in the second inning, scoring four of its six runs and taking a commanding 5-1 lead. The Bulldogs added another run in the third.
The Owls got on the board for the final time in the fourth on an RBI single by Shamaar McDuffie and an RBI double by Williams, shrinking the LTU lead to 6-3, which is where the score remained for the rest of the contest.
KSU struck first in Saturday’s matchup on an RBI single by Josh Gibbs, giving the Owls a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Bulldogs answered in the third inning on a solo home run to tie the game at one. KSU took the lead back in the home third, giving the Owls a 2-1 lead.
After both teams traded two-run homers in the fifth, LTU scored two runs in the seventh to go back in front 5-4. KSU answered quickly on a home run by James McGee, tying the game once again.
The Owls lead the eighth inning off with a triple from Gibbs, capping off his 3-for-3 day at the plate. Charlie Jones scored Gibbs on a sacrifice fly, giving KSU a 6-5 lead and the victory, the team’s first in Conference USA play since April 4, following four straight games lost in conference play including a sweep in Miami at Florida International.
Sunday’s rubber match began with the Bulldogs taking a commanding early 3-0 lead in the third inning, starting with a two-run home run to deep right field by Trey Hawsey, followed by an RBI single by Eli Berch.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when the Owls got on the board for the first time of the afternoon on a sacrifice fly by Jones. KSU tied the game at three in the bottom of the eighth on Chris Cole’s two-run homer.
LTU secured its victory, both in the game and the series, on their own sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, to go up 4-3.
The loss brings the Owls to 17-19 overall and 7-11 in conference play, with some tough matchups against conference frontrunners still to come.
KSU will hope to get back in the win column when it takes on West Georgia at Cole Field on April 21.
