Loyola baseball will host No. 2 Faulkner in a three game series at Segnette Field this weekend. The first game will be played on Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday, March 14, starting at 1 p.m.
THU, 03/12/2015
(New Orleans, La.) Loyola University New Orleans baseball will host No. 2 Faulkner in a three game series at Segnette Field this weekend. The first game will be played on Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday, March 14, starting at 1 p.m.
Loyola (14-13, 3-9 SSAC) took the first two games of a three game series versus Blackburn College on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Wolf Pack rolled to 6-0 and 10-2 wins in the first two games before falling 18-11 in the series finale. Stewart Campbell and Jordan Green both earned wins on the mound for the Pack. Freshman outfielder Rawlings Elam hit 5-10 with five runs scored over the three game set. Fellow freshman Spencer Rosenbohm was 3-5 with three runs and three RBI over the final two games. The Wolf Pack began the season winning nine of its first 13 games, but has since lost nine of its last 14.
Loyola is hitting .279 this season and ranks third in the conference in doubles (46) and fifth in runs scored per game (6.4). John Nicholson ranks first in the NAIA in doubles with 12 and is batting .408 with 26 RBI. Luis Anguizola is fourth in doubles (11) and has a .363 average with 17 RBI.
Faulkner (24-3, 8-1 SSAC) comes into tomorrow night's game winners of six straight. The Eagles have earned wins over No. 8 Georgetown College, (RV) Talladega, (RV) Judson College, (RV) Lindsey Wilson and (RV) Campbellsville. Faulkner's lone conference defeat of the season was a 10-0 loss to No. 22 Mobile. The Eagles are ranked in the top ten in the NAIA in several statistical categories, including doubles (58), stolen bases (63), runs scored (186), runs batted in (165), home runs per game (.89), total hits (245) and ERA (2.39).
Five Faulkner batters have hit at least three home runs this season. As a team, Faulkner has hit twice as many home runs than any other team in the SSAC. Dennis Morton leads the Eagles with four home runs, 26 RBI, 12 doubles and a .423 batting average. Chris Madera has stolen a team-leading 21 bases and scored a team-high 30 runs while hitting .385.
Four of Faulkner's starting pitchers rank in the top 10 in the SSAC in ERA. Phillip Anderson ranks fourth at 1.12, Jack Charleston is fifth (1.26), Victor Arche is eighth (1.93) and Kurt Lipscomb comes in at ninth with a 2.11 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting just .211 against the Faulkner pitching staff this season.
Last season, Loyola beat Faulkner 5-4 in the first game of a three game series before the Eagles took the final two games.
