The Loyola University New Orleans Baseball team kicked off the 2016 season on Thursday evening with a home double-header against DIII Rust College.
The Wolf Pack dominated the Bearcats in both contests; earning the 17-4 victory in game one before completing the sweep with an 18-0 win in the second game.
Loyola jumps to 2-0 to start the season with the victory, while Rust drops to 0-2 following Wednesday's losses.
Game One – Loyola 14, Rust 3
Jr. IF Luis Anguizola (David, Chiriqui, Panama/Colegio San Agustin)went a perfect 2-for-2 in game one, adding a team-high three RBI to go along with one run. Jr. OF Alexander Lorenzo (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit Prep) also went unblemished at the plate (2-for-2), finishing with two runs and one RBI in the victory.
On the mound, Sr. RHP Kevin Lindsey (Baton Rouge, La./Catholic)pitched a brilliant game to earn the victory, holding the visitors to just one hit while fanning seven in 3.0 innings pitched.
Lindsey set the tone early for the Wolf Pack by striking out three of four batters to keep Rust off the board in the top of the first. Loyola got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning after a single by Anguizolascored R-Jr. SS Blake Toscano (Metairie, La./Holy Cross) from third. Lorenzo followed with a two-out single to left, scoring So. IF Rawlings Elam (Houston, Texas/St. Thomas High), to put the home team up 2-0 after the first inning.
The Bearcats were kept off the scoreboard in the top of the second to keep the score a 2-0. The Wolf Pack managed to put one more on the board in the bottom of the inning following a wild pitch by Rust's Jarhi Davis to go up 3-0 after two.
Loyola busted game one wide open in the bottom of the third inning. Backed by 10 runs on six hits, the Wolf Pack jumped out to a comfortable 13-0 advantage.
Rust finally manufactured some runs in the fifth, putting four on the board to bring the score to 13-4 heading into the sixth inning.
Following a scoreless top half, Loyola put four more runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth to extend the cushion to 17-4 entering the seventh.
The visitors only managed one hit in the top of the seventh to give the Wolf Pack the 17-4 victory in seven innings.
In the win, Loyola recorded 13 hits, 15 RBI and five stolen bases. In the field, Fr. IF Jesse Jordan (New Iberia/Erath High School) tallied a team-high three assists.
Game Two – Loyola 18, Rust 0
Offensively, the Wolf Pack were led by So. IF Ben Condara (Houston, Texas/St. Thomas) in the second game; he went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI. So. IF Jordan Wilson (San Francisco, Calif./George Washington High) also knocked in three RBI, while Anguizola added two RBI in the victory.
Sr. RHP Daniel Posway (Sugarland, Texas/Strake Jesuit College Prep) got the win for Loyola after giving up just one hit in three innings pitched. Fr. P AJ Smith (Billings, Mt./Billings West) racked up a team-best four strikeouts in 2.0 innings of relief in his first appearance for the maroon and gold.
The Wolf Pack began to steadily build their lead in the first inning, putting up three on the board to go up 3-0 heading into the second. Following a dry half inning by the Bearcats, Loyola hung up four more in the bottom of the second to go up 7-0. The Wolf Pack put up two runs in each of the next two innings, while keeping Rust off the board, to bring their lead to 11-0 going into the fifth. Up by 11, the Wolf Pack completely erased any doubt in the sixth by putting up seven more to expand their advantage to 18-0. Loyola's stellar pitching kept the Bearcats off the board in the top of the seventh en route to the Wolf Pack's 18-0 victory in game two.
Loyola recorded 10 hits, 17 RBI and 14 walks in its second victory while only recording a single error. Conversely, Rust was plagued with seven errors in the loss.
The Wolf Pack wrap up their three-game series with the Bearcats tomorrow, February 5, with a single game set to start at 4:00 p.m. at Segenette Field.
