The Wolf Pack will try to win the series tomorrow, March 26, at 1:00 pm. Senior Daniel Posway (SR/Sugarland, Texas) will be on the mound for Loyola .
(New Albany, Miss.) - The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team split a doubleheader with Southern States Athletic Conference rival Blue Mountain College on Friday.
In the first game Loyola rode a great starting performance to a 4-2 victory, before dropping a pitchers' duel in game two 3-1.
The Wolf Pack are 17-20 overall and 3-8 in conference play after the doubleheader.
Game 1: Loyola 4, Blue Mountain 2
Rawlings Elam (SO/Houston, Tx.) drove in two runs on 1-for-3 from the plate, while Ben Condara hit a two-run home run in his only at-bat for the Wolf Pack.
On the mound, Kevin Lindsey (SR/Baton Rouge, La.) (5-3) pitched a complete game and allowed two runs on eight hits, no walks, and one strikeout.
Blue Mountain struck first in the second inning with two runs. The Wolf Pack were held scoreless until the top of the fifth inning.
After Britt Pellegrin (JR/Bourg, La.) reached on an error and Daniel Pappas (SR/Chicago, Ill.) walked, Peyton Senner (JR/New Orleans, La.) advanced both runners on a sacrifice bunt. Joseph Kuchler (SO/Metairie, La.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Loyola. Following a strikeout by Blake Toscano (JR/Metairie, La.), there were two outs and the bases loaded for Elam. He answered the call with a single that scored Pellegrin and Pappas to tie the game 2-2.
It became a pitcher's duel from that point on and the seven-inning game would head into extra innings. The Wolf Pack turned to one of the veterans for a big hit in the eighth inning.
Jordan Wilson (SO/San Francisco, Ca. ), coming off a great performance against NCAA Division I Southern,singled to left field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Pellegrin. Ben Condara, who has missed the last eight games due to a wrist injury, pinch hit for Pappas with one out in the eighth. On a 1-1 count, Condara drove it over the wall in left for a 4-2 lead.
In the bottom half of the eighth, Lindsey sat the Toppers down in order for the victory and complete game.
Game 2: Loyola 1, Blue Mountain 3
Alexander Lorenzo (JR/Miami, Fla.) and Elam were responsible for the two Wolf Pack hits and Wilson hit a sacrifice fly for the only RBI.
Jason Roussel (SO/Baton Rouge, La.) (1-1) pitched six strong innings, only allowing three runs on six hits and one walk with one strikeout in a complete-game loss.
As was the case in game one, Blue Mountain got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the third. Loyola responded quickly in the top of the fourth.
Singles by Elam and Lorenzo, followed by a balk, put runners on second and third with one out. Wilson hit a fly ball to left that was deep enough to score Elam for the sacrifice fly cutting the lead to 2-1.
The Toppers tacked on one more run in the top of the fifth to stretch the lead to 3-1. Despite Roussel's great performance, the Wolf Pack dropped game two after stranding two runners in the seventh.
The rubber match will be tomorrow, March 26, at 1:00 pm with Daniel Posway on the mound for the Wolf Pack.
