J. C. L ove Fiel d LA TECH at Pat Patterson Park 26 Entering its 42nd year of service, modern J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park continues to be one of the top playing facilities in the South. Since the facility opened in 1971, the stadium has seen the Bulldogs amass an impressive 725-384-1 (.653) home record. The facility has undergone several renovations in recent years. The outfield fence has been moved back as much as 20 feet in some places and has been raised. The dimensions of the field are now (left-to-right) 315-370-385-340-325. Other renovations include a new paint job, a new warning track and new lockers for the Bulldogs. Windscreens down the left-and right-field lines were added, as well as a visitors bullpen. In 2008, a brand-new scoreboard was installed beyond the right field wall and a smaller scoreboard display behind home plate. The smaller display faces the outfield and the University Park Apartments that sit beyond the left field fence. Approximately 400 new chairback seats were also added to the existing 300 to give more options to Tech season ticket holders. A new press box was constructed in time for Tech to host the 2008 Western Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time in the school s history. It features two radio booths, a television booth, ample seating for media members, high-speed internet connections and multiple phone lines. On May 22, 2008, the facility was rededicated as J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park in honor of Tech legend, Pat Gravy Patterson. In his honor, an outfield wall sign that bears a picture of the former coach in his Tech jersey with the years he coached and his record was installed in leftcenter field. His name has also been imprinted on the outside wall of the press box that faces Tech Drive, and it has been added to the top panel on the scoreboard in right field. Centrally located on the Louisiana Tech campus, the facility features a seating capacity of 2,000, many of which are chairback seats for added comfort. The ballpark also boasts large picnic and viewing areas beyond the outfield wall that are very popular with Tech fans and the infamous Right Field Rowdies. J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park also features complete team facilities underneath the main stadium structure, including two locker rooms, showers, training rooms and coaches offices. A players lounge was built adjacent to the home locker room and restroom facilities are located behind the third base dugout. An enclosed batting tunnel is located down the left-field line. Tech s baseball surface has been expertly manicured and is one of the finest playing surfaces available. It features a fully-automated sprinkler system. Lights were installed prior to the 1978 season. In 1997, a school-record 3,251 fans packed the stadium and the hills beyond the outfield to watch the Bulldogs play eventual national champion. The facility, known as Tech Stadium until 1982, was named in honor of J.C. Love, a Ruston businessman who whole-heartedly supported the Tech baseball program and the university. All-Time Record 725-384-1 (.653) Att. 3,251 3,154 3,125 3,076 2,536 2,375 2,138 2,088 1,837 1,835 Top 10 Largest Crowds Opponent Year 1997 1991 UL-Monroe 1987 UL-Monroe 2005 Lamar 1987 Result L, 13-1 L, 4-2 L, 13-6 W, 9-2 W, 3-2 W, 5-4 L, 6-2 L, 10-9 L, 5-2 W, 5-4 Milestones Wins Win No. 1: April 26, 1971 vs. McNeese State (1-0) Win No. 50: 1974 vs. UT-Arlington (8-4) Win No. 100: 1977 vs. McNeese State (7-6) Win No. 200: 1982 vs. Northwestern State (5-2) Win No. 300: 1987 vs. Northeast La. (9-1) Win No. 400: 1992 vs. Ouachita Baptist (11-1) Win No. 500: 1998 vs. Northwestern State (8-2) Win No. 600: 2006 vs. UAB (3-1) Win No. 700: 2010 vs. Sacramento State (5-4)
YTLA ISR TECH EVINU Pat Gravy Patterson (1934-) Louisiana Tech lost a coaching legend on Oct. 11,, as Pat Gravy Patterson, longtime coach of the Bulldog baseball team, passed away at the age of 73. Patterson coached the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs for 23 years and upon retiring in 1990, he was the all-time winningest coach in Louisiana collegiate baseball compiling a record of 741-462-2. The Louisiana Tech family has lost a wonderful person, said Tech President Dr. Dan Reneau. Coach Patterson was a great friend and mentor to countless Tech students over the years, and he will be missed by all of us. Patterson led Louisiana Tech to seven NCAA Tournament appearances during his coaching tenure, the last coming in 1987. In 1974, Patterson had the Bulldogs just one game away from the College World Series. Affectionately known as Gravy by Bulldog fans, Patterson came to Louisiana Tech in 1967 as an assistant football coach. One year later, he was hired as the Bulldog baseball head coach and served in dual roles before finally leaving the gridiron in 1978. The entire Tech Athletic family mourns the loss of Coach Patterson, said former Tech Athletic Director Jim Oakes. We all grieve the loss of such a special man and outstanding coach. Coach Patterson left an unforgettable mark on his players and those of us who were fortunate to know him. This loss is very hard because Coach Patterson was beloved by everyone who knew him. Patterson recorded 18 winning seasons in 23 years at the helm of Tech baseball and posted 40-win seasons five times. He was named the conference Coach of the Year seven times and the District VI Coach of the Year in 1974. In my eyes, Gravy is Louisiana Tech baseball, said current Tech baseball coach Wade Simoneaux. Anytime anybody mentions Louisiana Tech baseball, his name always comes up. He set the bar so high that it s not even attainable to do what he did here. He was an idol to me. A 1958 graduate of Louisiana Tech, Patterson played football and baseball under legendary Bulldog coaches Joe Aillet and Berry Hinton, earning four football letters and two baseball letters. He went on to earn his master s degree from the University of Mississippi in 1961. He began his coaching career in 1958 on the prep level at Ouachita Parish High School in Monroe, then took a job at Shreveport s Byrd High School in 1963 before joining the Tech athletic department in 1967 as an assistant football coach. Although he finally left the gridiron in 1979, Patterson did return for one game as interim head coach in 1979, leading the Bulldogs to a remarkable 13-10 victory over rival Northeast Louisiana (now known as UL-Monroe) in his only game as head coach. When I came in 1974, he was the first coach I was really involved with, said longtime Tech broadcaster Dave Nitz. He took me in and was always like a father figure to me. He would go on a recruiting trip and take me with him. He was Tech through and through. Nobody loved Louisiana Tech more than he did. Patterson served for several years as Tech s associate athletic director following his retirement from the diamond, overseeing eligibility of athletes and working closely with NCAA compliance. On three occasions, he was asked to step in as the university s interim athletic director. He is a member of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame. 27
2012 SEASON OUTLOOK LA TECH Coming off a 34-win season and the best WAC tournament showing in school history, Louisiana Tech s 2012 schedule is highlighted by games against seven teams that made an appearance in last year s NCAA Tournament. Head coach Wade Simoneaux and the Bulldogs will play a total of 56 games with 14 coming against postseason teams from a year ago. LA Tech has series scheduled against Vanderbilt,, UALR, Creighton, Dallas Baptist, Oral Roberts and Fresno State, all teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. Our team will be battle tested by the team we get to conference play, Simoneaux said. We have a tough nonconference road schedule against teams that can really exploit our weaknesses. We want to find out where we stand prior to WAC play. Louisiana Tech begins its season hosting future conference foe University of Texas at Arlington Feb. 17-19 at J.C. Love Field. Tech travels to Little Rock, to play defending Sun Belt Conference champion UALR on Feb. 22. The Bulldogs will get arguably their toughest test of the season Feb. 29 when they travel to face nationally-ranked Vanderbilt for a game. The Commodores finished the 2011 season with the most wins in school history, 54, and were one of eight teams that advanced to the College World Series. Another highlight of Louisiana Tech s slate will come March 14 when it travels to Ameritrade Park, home of the College World Series, for a game against defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Creighton. Following the Creighton game, Tech travels to Lincoln to face former major league star Darin Erstad and the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a four-game series. Erstad is in his first season as the head coach at Nebraska after a stellar major league career that saw him play 14 years with Anaheim Angels, Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros. The Bulldogs will host future WAC member Dallas Baptist for a three-game series beginning on March 23. Dallas Baptist finished the 2011 season ranked ninth in the nation in home runs and advanced to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament. Tech travels for a single game against SEC foe in Little Rock on May 15. Louisiana Tech begins conference play April 6 when they host Sacramento State for a three-game series. Tech also hosts WAC series against Hawaii (April 26-28) and San Jose State (May 4-6). The Bulldogs road conference series include Nevada (April 13-15), New Mexico State (April 19-21) and defending champion Fresno State (May 18-20). The conference tournament begins on May 23 in Mesa, Arizona. Tech returns 15 letter winners and welcomes 14 new players. The Bulldogs only have three seniors on the team. Louisiana Tech lost six seniors to graduation and three juniors to the MLB Draft. The 34 wins were the most for a Tech team since the season. Catcher Louisiana Tech will see a new starting catcher behind the plate with the graduation of Clint Ewing, a Lowe s Senior CLASS Award finalist last season. Ewing was very durable and started in 51 games for the Bulldogs, hitting.259 with two home runs and 19 runs batted in. Losing Ewing is tough because he was a smart guy and brought leadership to this team, said Simoneaux. Talent-wise, I don t see a drop-off because all four catchers on our roster are very athletic and capable of becoming leaders on this team. Sophomore Tyler Qualls will start at catcher in 2012 after starting in 13 games behind the plate last season.he showed great discipline, drawing 13 walks in 60 plate appearances for a.417 on-base percentage. Kyle Arnsberg, a JUCO transfer from McLennan CC, junior Chase Hesson and redshirt freshman Jacob Derouen are fighting for the back-up catcher spot. Arnsberg was named second team all-conference in his only season at McLennan, hitting.319 with 5 home runs, 18 doubles and 34 RBIs. He was drafted in the 40th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Arnsberg had a great Fall World Series, hitting.444 with one home run and three RBI. He led all Bulldog players with a.545 on base percentage. Infield The Bulldogs return three starters to a defense that ranked fourth all-time in Tech history with a.962 fielding percentage. Middle infielders Austin Hedges and Ryan Gebhardt will start at second base and shortstop, respectively, while senior Alex Williams returns for his fourth year as the starting first baseman. Named second team all-wac and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2011, Gebhardt led LA Tech with a.343 batting average and a.421 on base percentage. In 49 games (44 starts), he drove in 23 runs on 48 hits and a team-high eight sacrifice bunts. Hedges hit.304 in 2011 with 48 hits, 25 runs and two stolen bases in 49 games (43 starts). He, along with Gebhardt, was named to the College Sports Madness Preseason Second Team All-WAC. The junior will also see some time as the designated hitter, giving Taylor Terrasas some time at second base. 28
Outfield With the departure of Will Alvis, Joey Ford and Kyle Roliard (drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round), Louisiana Tech will feature a new look outfield. The Bulldogs have as many as nine players who will get opportunities to showcase their abilities. Senior Justin Gordey, junior Corey White and sophomores Colby Johnson and Taylor Burch all started at least three games in the outfield last season. Gordey played in 48 games, starting 36 at center field, right field and DH. He hit.301 with 41 hits, 16 RBI and four stolen bases and is expected to be the team s starting center fielder. In left field, Simoneaux will platoon juniors Kody Neel and Stephen Gandy depending on match-ups. The right-handed hitting Gandy had a strong Fall World Series, hitting.385 with two doubles and two RBI. Right field is a toss-up just because we have so many new guys and need to give them all a chance to show what they ve got, said Simoneaux. He projects Colby Johnson, Taylor Burch or Kimbell to become the everyday right fielder. Johnson played in 38 games in 2011, starting 24 in the outfield. He hit.321 with one home run, 25 hits and eight RBI. He also showcased great plate discipline as he drew 18 walks and ended the 2011 season with a.459 on-base percentage. Burch started three games in right field in 2011, recording a.273 batting average with three RBI and arguably has the strongest arm in the outfield. Simoneaux is intrigued by the possibility of mix-matching outfielders depending on match-ups. Losing Ford, (Will) Alvis and Roliard was tough for us but we have several candidates out there, Simoneaux said. It could be an interesting scenario where we might have three different outfield lineups the first three games. We may play nine different outfielders until we decide who our guys are. Junior Corey White and sophomore Sam Alvis will be key reserves in the outfield. White hit.309 last season in 38 games and stole six bases. He made 13 starts and was used late in games as a pinch runner. Sam Alvis is a dual player and did not start any games in 2011 in the outfield but he started all five Fall World Series games in right field for the Black squad. Alvis led the Black team with a.357 batting average and hit the team s only home run. He ended the series with five hits and three RBI. YTLA ISR TECH EVINU After a strong 2010 season that saw Terrasas hit.360, he finished 2011 with a.137 batting average. He played the 2011 season with a broken hand and has fully recovered. Williams will once again start at first base. Since his freshman season (2009), he has played in 166 of Tech s 169 games and started 162 of them. Williams led the Bulldogs with 53 RBI in 2011 with four home runs from the cleanup spot. He led all Tech players with a.438 batting average, seven hits, two home runs and four RBI in the Fall World Series. Freshman Bre shon Kimbell will spell Williams at first base and is likely to begin the season as the team s designated hitter. The Mesquite, Texas native was drafted in the 28th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. With the departure of Mark Threlkeld, junior college transfer Ryan Jones will start at third base with redshirt freshman Beau Bayliss backing him up. Threlkeld was a big offensive threat at third base and hit in the meat of our order, said head coach Wade Simoneaux. However, defensively, Jones and Bayliss both do a good job out there and are better defenders than Threlkeld was. Bayliss had a good fall swinging it and Jones had a great fall defensively. The one that can correct the other side of their game the quickest will get the start out there. Jones showcased his fielding abilities during the Fall World Series, where he made no errors in the five games. He was named Mesa CC s team MVP after ending the 2011 season with a.320 batting average, 23 RBI and 10 doubles. Pitching The 2011 season saw the Bulldogs pitching staff shatter a number of single-season records, setting records for innings pitched (517.2) and saves (18). The pitching rotation lost two players to the MLB Draft, Mike Jefferson (22nd round by Pittsburgh) and Roliard, but return juniors Jeb Stefan and Trevor Peterson. Stefan and Peterson will anchor a rotation that is expected to be one of the strongest in the conference. Stefan led the WAC in fewest hits allowed by a starter (63) and led Tech with seven wins and pitched two complete games in 14 29
LA TECH starts with one shut out. Peterson led all Bulldog pitchers with 16 games started, pitching 83.1 innings and compiling a 6-4 record with a 5.08 ERA. Junior Jamie Gilley is expected to take over the third spot and redshirt freshman Chris Sadberry will round out the rotation. Gilley redshirted last season but pitched extremely well in the Fall World Series, leading all pitchers with a 1.00 ERA in two starts. He allowed one run on four hits in nine innings while striking out 13. Left-handed pitcher Sadberry started two games for LA Tech in 2011 before redshirting the season. He allowed three runs on six hits in 4.1 innings. The bullpen is highlighted by closer Caleb Dudley. Dudley broke Tech s single-season saves and appearances records in 2011, while becoming one of the best finishers in the country. He went 5-2 in 2011 with a 3.30 ERA, 12 saves and 44 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched. He made 32 appearances, including two spot starts for the Bulldogs. He goes into the 2012 season only four saves away from tying Buddy Aulds for the top spot in Tech s history (18). Dudley recorded one save during the Fall World Series in 6.2 innings. He finished the five-game series allowing only one run on one hit with eight strikeouts. Left-handers Sam Alvis and Ben Carlisle return to the bullpen as the primary set-up men for Dudley. Alvis became a shut-down lefty as he recorded a 3.79 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 19 innings. In 21 appearances, he held opposing hitters to a.232 batting average. In 2011, Carlisle made 16 appearances, including two starts for Tech and struck out 23 hitters in 26.2 innings pitched. Carlisle made three appearances in the Fall World Series. He picked up one win and allowed one run on five hits in 7.2 innings while striking out nine. JUCO transfers James Ferguson and Nate Chambers and freshmen Phil Maton and Mitch Antony join the bullpen. Chambers had a great fall, as he picked up a win in his only start of the fall World Series. He pitched five innings of one run ball. Maton compiled a 24-3 record with a 1.24 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 180.2 innings as a starter for Glenwood High School in Chatham, Ill. He made two appearances out of the bullpen during the Fall World Series, allowing four hits and struck out seven in six innings. Benn Fairbanks is also expected to join the bullpen as he attempts to recover from Tommy John Surgery. Simoneaux is excited about his pitching staff and says it s one of the major strengths of the team going into the 2012 season. Stefan, Peterson and Gilley will anchor the rotation and Chris Sadberry will probably be the fourth starter on this team, Simoneaux said. We have Dudley, Carlisle and Alvis coming back to the bullpen and adding Ferguson, Chambers, Maton and Antony to it gives us a deep staff. We have four legitimate starters and eight guys in the bullpen that we are confident in. 30