June 2, 2016
1987 Stats 
RUSTON -- After taking over the program in 1968, Pat "Gravy" Patterson had built a baseball power at Louisiana Tech during his time wearing the No. 27 as the skipper. The eventual Hall of Fame coach – who took over for another Hall of Famer in Berry Hinton – led Tech to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including its first in 1971.
Patterson and the Bulldogs were only one win away from the College World Series in 1974 before falling to Texas twice in Arlington.
Following the 1986 season that saw the Bulldogs post a 36-25 record and compete in the Baton Rouge regional – Tech won its first two games before losing to LSU in the winners bracket and then being eliminated by Tulane – , the Tech faithful knew that 1987 could be special.
"In '86, we went deeper in the regionals and had a really good shot at moving forward," said Richie LeBlanc, who served as the ace of the Tech staff both years. "People forget about the '86 team." With the vast majority of players returning from that 1986 group, it set up to be one Patterson's best teams. It wouldn't disappoint.
"We had some super stars on that team," said Steve Davison, who will be the first to downplay his role as a reserve on that team. "Richie LeBlanc was a super star pitcher. The infield had two superstars, Charlie (Montoyo) and David (Segui). David was a junior college transfer that was a switch hitting first baseman and one of the best hitters I've ever seen. Charlie was the best second baseman I've ever seen.
"We had a pitcher (in Richie) that we felt like every time we trotted him out there we had a chance no matter who the opponent. We had a real competitive group of guys, similar to Tech's team this year. The similarities are a bunch of guys that competed well."
Mike Kane, who served as an assistant coach under Patterson before taking over as head coach upon Gravy's retirement following the 1990 season, agreed.
"That year Richie was great," Kane said. "I remember going to the banquet (at Regionals) the night before and the coaches from LSU being so happy that they didn't have to face Richie in the first game. They were thrilled when the seedings came out and they weren't going to have to face Richie in the first game.
"Richie had an off day (against UNO in Regionals), but that year Richie was so good. We had Segui who hit (.393) and hit (18) home runs. Charlie hit the walk off to beat LSU. Jeff Miller hit (13) home runs that year. We really had some good players. We really could pitch, and we really could hit too. We felt that year we had opportunities because we had guys who could go out on the mound and beat good people and we had some guys who could hit too. We were very optimistic through those years."
LeBlanc was good. He posted a 12-2 record with a 3.16 earned run average and picked up wins over the likes of Texas A&M, LSU and Mississippi State.
"It started my freshman year in '85 when we had 19 new players come in," LeBlanc said. "Not unlike what they went through this year when (Greg) Goff took over. It wasn't a coaching change, just kind of a house clean. It was an interesting group of guys. We had some junior college guys starting on that team. A few of us had been there for several years. We were real close and just kind of pieced it together."
However, LeBlanc wasn't the only arm in the Tech pitching arsenal. Jimmy Faircloth was as good of a No. 2, or maybe better put a 1B, as a club could wish for and he proved it with his 9-3 mark on the mound.
"It was a very eclectic group of guys," Faircloth said. "We kind of came together a few years before that and found our way to Louisiana Tech. By the time we reached that '87 season we really were a family. We were a group of young men who knew each other very well, and we were gritty. It was just a lot of tough personalities. We clicked, and we knew how to win. We weren't afraid of anything. We didn't think there was a team that could beat us. We felt like every time we walked on a field we were probably going to win the game.
"That's a quality that you see in a lot of winning teams. I think physically there is a lot of parity in college sports. You look up at the end of the year at those teams that really succeed and wonder why can that group of young people come together and win and another group that is physically comparable not win. It has a lot to do with the personality of the kids. That group of kids was a very successful group. I think everyone in that group has gone on to be successful in their lives. It's just a bunch of young men who knew how to succeed. That's the best way I can describe it."
And succeed they did.
Tech could hit with the best of them. Segui (.393, 18 HR, 66 RBI), Montoyo (.403, 16 HR, 46 RBI) and Miller (.367, 13 HR, 68 RBI) spearheaded a Tech lineup that batted over .300 as a team with 72 home runs and 72 stolen bases.
On the mound, LeBlanc, Faircloth (9-3, 3.51), Don Clinton (7-0, 6 saves) and Guillot (4-1) were the mainstays as Tech had to overcome numerous injuries during the season.
"We were probably a little thinner as a pitching staff that year," Davison said. "I remember we had some arm trouble. Kevin Pickens had arm trouble all season. He pitched really well in regionals and got drafted. Early wins over Texas A&M and Mississippi State gave us some confidence, then the win over LSU."
Although wins over Texas A&M and Mississippi State were impressive, it was the 5-4 extra inning victory over LSU in Ruston that year that is still talked about 30 years later. A then record crowd of 2,375 fans jammed into J.C. Love Field on a warm, muggy night in mid-April for the showdown between the state's two best baseball programs.
"That was the first time we played at home where it was just a madhouse," LeBlanc recalled. "There were people everywhere. It was a great ball game for Louisiana Tech."
It was a great ballgame for college baseball.
LSU boasted future Major League Baseball home run great Albert "Joey" Belle in its power-heavy lineup. And as good as the game was, the match-up between Belle and LeBlanc was something even more special.
"When he (Joey Belle) stepped onto that field, he was a completely different person," LeBlanc said. "You talk about a competitor and intense, friendships ended quickly and I learned that. I think I threw him a curve ball, and he stood back and started yelling at me. ‘You're gonna sit there and throw me curveballs? Challenge me if you're really going to get me out.' So then I did, he hit it over the railroad tracks."
It was one of the few mistakes LeBlanc surrendered that night as he tossed all 10 innings, striking out nine while allowing only five hits and two walks. However, two of the hits were off of Belle's bat and weren't even close to staying in the park. Belle's two-run blast in the sixth tied the game at 4-4, setting up a memorable ending.
"Coach Patterson was so nervous," Faircloth remembered. "LSU was a very good team, and they just kept competing. I was scheduled to pitch the next day at Delta State; the very next day. Richie threw the whole 10 innings against LSU.
"We joke about it, but I threw 10 innings in the bullpen that same night because Gravy was so nervous. I guarantee you I was up for at least seven innings in the bullpen. I must have thrown 100 pitches in the bullpen constantly warming up. Richie didn't even go (to Delta State) the next day. He took the next day off he was so tired. I had to ride the bus over and throw nine innings at Delta State the very next day."
Faircloth was in the bullpen warming up in the 10th inning with the game still tied at 4-4 when Patterson made a trip to the mound.
"(Belle) was on deck and there were two outs, and Gravy came out to the mound," LeBlanc said. "He told me ‘You are not going to face him again. This is your last batter. If you can't get this out, you're coming out.' We were fortunate enough to get the out. He had hit two home runs and I had struck him out twice. So he was due for a home run and Memorial Gym was already destroyed (from his first two)."
In the bottom of the 10th with the game on the line, Montoyo stepped to the plate. What followed is Bulldog baseball lore as he crushed the offering deep into the night sky, sending Louisiana Tech to a 5-4 win and the Bulldog faithful into a frenzy.
"I remember Charlie coming up in the bottom of the 10th and hitting that walk off home run and everybody going berserk," Davison said.
"Charlie hit the home run," Faircloth said. "He hit it up into the trees. It was the Charlie home run up into the pollen."
Tech students jumped off a wooden platform built behind the left field fence and came running onto the field. The more than 2,000 Tech fans in the stadium went wild. The Bulldog dugout rushed to home plate while Montoyo jogged around the bases and headed for home.
It was one of many special moments from the 1987 season.
As the regular season came to a close, the Bulldogs were sitting at 39 wins and champions of the Southland Conference East Zone. Their resume was impressive but in order to get a bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs still had to beat a talented Lamar team in a best of five series in what was the Southland Conference Championship.
A loss in that series would mean end of the season.
"We had two divisions," Kane said. "And the winner of each division played in a best three out of five (series). It was just tough. We had a good ball club, but if you didn't win your conference, you had no chance (of getting into the NCAA Tournament)."
The first two games of the series were played in Beaumont with the Bulldogs winning 6-2 in game one before falling 3-2 in game two. One week later, the series came back to Ruston. Tech had a chance on its home field to wrap up the SLC crown and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
A 9-1 win in game three of the series on Friday gave Tech a 2-1 advantage in the series. Both teams returned the following day for game four, which turned into a classic. Tech led 6-2 when Lamar plated four runs in the eighth inning to tie the game.
After throwing the complete-game on Friday, LeBlanc came out of the pen in relief and threw five more innings. Tech had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th with two outs and Davison at the plate.
"I remember being irritated because David was in the on deck circle warming up," Davison recalls, laughing. "I thought ‘You don't need to be swinging a bat. I am going to come through.' Sure enough I struck out. I remember going back out to left field thinking this was going to be a long off-season; I just let my team down."
After Tech retired Lamar in the top of the 13th, Segui ended the game with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the frame.
"We had two pretty dramatic walk off home runs that year," Davison recalled.
With its 42nd victory of the season, Tech clinched its second straight trip to the NCAA Regionals. The Bulldogs packed their bags and headed to New Orleans in hopes of making the program's first trip to Omaha.
However, Tech fell 18-5 to New Orleans in game one as the Privateers handed LeBlanc only his second loss of the season – both came to UNO. The following day, Faircloth picked up a win over Southern to keep Tech's hopes alive.
Cal State Fullerton blanked Tech 11-0 the next day, ending the Bulldogs season … and starting a 29-year drought between NCAA Tournament games.
"It was so exciting back then," Faircloth said. "We created a strange buzz for Tech baseball. People came out and would sit on the railroad tracks. People would talk about it all around town. I know that sounds like an old timer talking about the glory days, but it really was an exciting couple of years. The 1986 and 1987 teams were very exciting. It was a great time. We were so close, and it's hard to describe it. We stay in touch. I see these guys a lot and when we get together we instantly become 22 years-old again. We were just a bunch of boys, and it was great times."