Louisiana Tech University’s baseball team, the Bulldogs, secured a 4-0 start to their 2026 season after defeating Houston Christian University (HCU) 11-0 in a seven-inning run-rule victory on Sunday. This marks the third consecutive year that the Bulldogs have opened their season with four straight wins and the seventh time under head coach Lane Burroughs since 2017.
The Bulldogs now hold a 14-1 record against HCU and have won their last ten matchups against the Huskies. Sunday’s game saw LA Tech build an early lead, scoring five runs by the end of the third inning. Key plays included an RBI single from Sebastian Mexico and a two-run base hit by Cade Patterson.
Catcher Matt Houston made his first appearance of the season and hit two home runs during the game, including one in his first at-bat. Pitcher Brooks Roberson delivered six scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out three batters. Roberson was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year last season.
Head coach Lane Burroughs commented on his team’s performance: “Just extremely proud of this team. Opening Weekend can go a lot of ways—a lot of dynamics involved, anxiety, guys are amped up [and] sometimes you don’t play your best. I think the most impressive thing to me is we had so many different games. We had two run-rule games that we played extremely well, and then we had two gut-check games yesterday that could’ve gone either way, and we were able to pull those out as well. Brooks Roberson looked as good today on the mound as he has in a really long time, and that’s why he was Freshman of the Year last year in CUSA. I thought he was in total command from the start. He’s very competitive, he can be a kid that can get a little too amped up sometimes—you have to keep him calm. I thought Matt Houston did a great job of keeping him calm. Matty always catches Brooks well. It was good to have Jackson Jones get his one inning of work in, freshman from Benton along with Thomas Allen representing their alma mater. Matt Houston needs to be talked about—he makes me look smart not playing him the last two days, but one thing about him: he’s probably the best teammate on the team. One of those guys everyone loves. Whether he’s playing or not, he’s always cheering for his teammates. He’s doing whatever he can to make them better. I think the game gives back what you give to it, just like life. I couldn’t be more proud of him with two homers and going 4-4 on the day. He makes an unbelievable play on a swinging bunt. Every coach in the dugout, including myself, was yelling to let it go [foul] and he just picks it up and throws the guy out. Just extremely proud of our offense. We talked about it Friday night—we want an offense that can travel. Whether its non-hitting weather or a big ball park, and we’re athletic enough to run and bunt, hit and run, and we didn’t really have to do a lot of that this weekend or not have those opportunities to do so. Friday night and today the ball was jumping, and yesterday we had to get some big critical hits. I thought we defended well all weekend. We had two good starts on the mound along with two mediocre starts. Had some bullpen hiccups but also some guys show out in the bullpen. I told the team they have to stay hungry and humble, but I thought we looked like a really good team. We clicked, and that’s what we expected.”
Other notable performances included Colby Lunsford finishing Opening Weekend with nine hits in fifteen at-bats—including three doubles and two home runs—and Cade Patterson leading with twelve RBIs over four games.
The Bulldogs will conclude their five-game homestand on Wednesday against McNeese State at J.C Love Field at Pat Patterson Park (“the Love Shack”), with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
With this latest win streak under Burroughs’ leadership since 2017—where LA Tech has frequently started strong—the program continues its push for further success this season.
