RUSTON, La. â It was exactly 675 days since the last time Louisiana Tech s baseball team hosted a game at the corner of Alabama Avenue and Tech Drive, and the Diamond Dogs didn t disappoint, reeling off five straight runs to close the ballgame in a 9-2 victory over Southern at the new J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
Senior Parker Bates tallied the first home run in the new ballpark with a two-run blast to right field in the eighth inning, putting an exclamation point on Tech s opening victory in its new stadium. Bates concluded his first night back in the Love Shack by going 3-for-5 with two doubles, five RBI and the ballpark s first homer.