RUSTON, La. – Wichita State was unable to hold a 6-1 seventh inning lead, as Louisiana Tech scored five in the seventh and three in the eighth for a 9-6 win on Saturday afternoon at Pat Patterson Park.
 
The Shockers (0-2) scored three three times in the top of the seventh to push their lead out to five, but the Bulldogs (2-0) had an immediate answer in the bottom of the frame. The first five batters of the inning reached base, trimming the margin to 6-3 after a bases-loaded hit by pitch. A sacrifice fly and a groundout made it 6-5, and then a two-out, two-strike wild pitch brought home Cole McConnell with the tying run.

In the eighth, Louisiana Tech again struck with two outs. Taylor Young doubled and came around to score on a Philip Matulia RBI single, then McConnell followed with a two-run homer for the game's final margin.
 
The rally spoiled a brilliant debut start from Wichita State lefty Payton Tolle, who allowed just one run over six innings, striking out one and walking four. The WSU offense staked him to a lead early, scratching across three first inning runs. RBI groundouts from Garrett Kocis and Xavier Casserilla sandwiched around a wild pitch from Louisiana Tech starter Ryan Jennings gave the Shockers a 3-0 lead, which they would add to in the seventh. With two outs and the bases empty, Seth Stroh beat out a grounder to second for an infield single. Jack Sigrist worked a walk, and Brock Rodden followed by grounding an RBI double down the left field line. Sawyre Thornhill capped the rally with a two-run single to center, extending the lead to 6-1.
 
Bulldogs reliever Kyle Crigger (1-0) earned the win, flipping two scoreless innings with four strikeouts, while Shocker reliever Nate Adler (0-1) was saddled with the loss in his Shocker debut. Newcomers Grayson Jones and Jace Miner also made their first appearances in the black and yellow.

The series concludes Sunday afternoon with game three at 1:00 pm.