Charlotte Falls in C-USA Opener at LA Tech, 2-1 – Charlotte Athletics

RUSTON, La. – The Charlotte 49ers baseball team opened Conference USA action with a 2-1 loss at Louisiana Tech on Friday evening (March 17).
 
Wyatt Hudepohl got the start on the mound for Charlotte (6-11, 0-1 C-USA) and tossed his second consecutive and third total quality start but the Niner bats only mustered six hits and a single run. They were stymied on the other end by Louisiana Tech’s (10-8, 1-0 C-USA) Jonathan Fincher, who recorded just the second quality start any opponent has thrown against CLT this season.
 
Kaden Hopson scored the lone run for Charlotte after he doubled off the wall in center field in the fifth inning. Cam Fisher was the Niner that brought him home, picking up his team-leading 19th RBI of the season.
 
Fisher was the only member of the Green and White with multiple hits in the game as he had another single in the third. Blake Jackson, Josh Patrick, and Spencer Nolan all recorded hits as well in the contest, with Nolan legging out an infield single in the third for his first career collegiate hit.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Louisiana Tech took its lead in the first inning with a solo home run from its second batter of the game. The Bulldogs doubled their lead with an all-important second run in the third, using a pair of singles and a stolen base to bring the insurance run home. Charlotte had a chance in the top half of the third after loading the bases with two outs but a fly ball to center field left them loaded.
 
Hudepohl sat the side down in order in the fourth and was rewarded by his offense chipping away at the deficit to get on the board. Hopson hit his double off the wall with one out and then moved up to third on a wild pitch. LA Tech shifted on Fisher and he beat the shift, getting one past the second baseman playing in shallow right field to plate his catcher from third.
 
That was the rest of the scoring for the remainder of the contest as the Bulldogs were able to see their one-run lead through to the end. Charlotte managed to get a runner on in both the seventh and eighth innings but LA Tech turned a double play in each frame to neutralize the runners.
 
Jackson worked a walk in the ninth inning to get the tying run on base with two outs but a strikeout ended the game and left him there.
 
UP NEXT
Charlotte will look to even the series up on Saturday (March 18) in the middle game of the three-game set. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. ET. The series concludes on Sunday with a noon ET start time.