RUSTON, La. (Interstat) — The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs opened their 2026 season with an offensive explosion, routing the Houston Christian Huskies 17-5 on Friday night at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.

The game, played on a cool February evening, was decided in a pair of massive innings by the Bulldogs, who capitalized on timely hitting and patient at-bats to overwhelm the Huskies pitching staff. Both teams finished with nine hits, but Louisiana Tech’s came in bunches and with runners on base, while Houston Christian stranded opportunities.

After a quiet first inning, Louisiana Tech’s Cole Lunsford announced the Bulldogs’ intent in the bottom of the first, launching a two-run homer to left field off Huskies starter Joshua Caravalho to cut into an early five-run deficit. The Huskies had been spotted a five-run lead before recording an out, as the game began with that score, indicating a pre-game ruling or forfeit of some kind that awarded Houston Christian five runs to start the contest.

The most critical sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the third inning, erasing any notion of an upset. Trailing 5-2, the Bulldogs sent 12 men to the plate and scored seven runs to take a commanding lead. The inning featured a two-run double by Sam Mexico, a bases-loaded walk by Eli Berch and a devastating grand slam by Cade Patterson. Patterson’s blast to right field, the first of two four-run homers he would hit on the night, turned a 5-4 game into a 9-5 Bulldogs advantage and chased Caravalho from the game.

Louisiana Tech continued to pour it on. In the fourth, Lunsford struck again with a three-run homer to left-center, his second of the game, making it 12-5. After Houston Christian clawed back with four unearned runs in the top of the sixth, highlighted by a three-run double from Luke Castillejos, the Bulldogs immediately answered in the bottom half. Patterson capped his monumental night by launching another four-run homer, again to right field, to re-establish a 17-5 lead and enact the run-rule margin.

Patterson finished with eight RBIs, driving in half of Louisiana Tech’s runs. Lunsford added five RBIs on his two home runs. The Bulldogs drew nine walks and were hit by two pitches, constantly applying pressure on the Huskies’ pitchers.

For Houston Christian, Castillejos led the offense with three RBIs. Aidan Avalos had three hits and an RBI. Huskies pitching, however, could not contain the Bulldogs’ lineup, combining to issue nine free passes.

Louisiana Tech’s bullpen, after a shaky sixth inning, closed the door. Nick Greaney and R. Fisher combined to record the final outs. The victory improved the Bulldogs to 1-0 to start the season, while Houston Christian fell to 0-1.

The two teams are scheduled to continue their series with a doubleheader on Saturday.