The LA Tech Bulldogs men’s baseball team earned a 4-3 victory in extra innings against Florida International University on April 4, taking the series at FIU Baseball Stadium in Miami. The game marked the Bulldogs’ first extra-inning Conference USA win since May 17 of last year.
This win is significant for LA Tech as it represents their first road victory over FIU in Miami since the 2017 season. The result also improves their record to 17-16 overall and an even 6-6 in Conference USA play, while FIU drops to a 10-22 overall record and just two conference wins.
The game saw both teams exchanging leads, with LA Tech tying the score early before taking a one-run advantage in the seventh inning. Eli Berch contributed three runs batted in, including a key two-out single that put the Bulldogs ahead late. Luke Nichols delivered a strong pitching performance, retiring twelve batters consecutively to start his outing and matching his season high with five strikeouts across five and one-third innings.
In relief, Connor Nation escaped an eighth-inning jam with bases loaded and no outs by limiting damage and recording a crucial strikeout. Riley Fisher closed out the final frames, stranding runners and securing the win after a dramatic final groundout that required confirmation from umpires.
Head Coach Lane Burroughs said, “It was gritty, gutsy—a lot of adjectives for this one. It wasn’t pretty, it was gritty and we’ll take gritty over pretty any day. We’re in a place where we need all the wins we can get, and to go on the road and win a conference series—it’s hard. To win any game is hard, but to go on the road is even harder, especially in a place like this. I’m proud of these guys. We put Eli Berch in as a designated hitter at the last minute, and he comes up with three big RBIs for us—that was huge. What can you say about Luke Nichols? He was competitive—we don’t win today without him. I can’t say enough about Connor Nation—that’s twice this year he’s come in with the bases loaded, nobody out, and got out of it with minimal damage. Obviously he has no trouble with inheriting runners and getting into a high-leverage situation which is why we went with him. Riley Fisher was good at the very end as well… A win is a win, and I’m very proud of this team.”
The Bulldogs will return home for their next matchup scheduled for Tuesday.
