The Pack fell in a close 6-5 game one with the Toppers before game two was called due to darkness at the end of the ninth inning 8-8
BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. - Beginning their three-game series with Blue Mountain College today, the Loyola University New Orleans baseball team fell in game one 6-5, before game two was suspended at 8-8 due to darkness in the 10th inning. The second match will be continued tomorrow at noon.
In game one the Wolf Pack (15-8, 1-3) were able to strike first, with Zachary Cook reaching on a walk and advancing on a sacrifice bunt by Jesse Jordan. Allen Dennis would eventually come to the plate and single to right field, bringing Cook across for the first run of the game. While the Toppers (14-5, 1-0) would eventually post two runs on the board in the bottom of the third, Loyola responded in the top of the fourth. After both Ben Condara and Brandon Wilson Jr. singled, John Hernandez followed suit, reaching first on a hit of his own and bringing in Condara. Michael Toscano laid down a bunt in the next at-bat for Loyola, with the Blue Mountain pitcher throwing the ball away, allowing Wilson to score and Hernandez to reach third. Charlie Seiter brought in Hernandez on a ground out, with Cook bringing the fourth run across the plate in the inning for Loyola on a sac-fly to centerfield.
The Toppers would fight back however, drawing the score within one after scoring two in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 5-4 Loyola game, before plating two more in the next inning. Blue Mountain would claim the victory in game one by one run, 6-5.
For game two, senior Joseph Kuchler took the mound to start, shutting Blue Mountain down for the first four innings. Loyola took a 3-0 lead in the third inning, when Rawlings Elam doubled to center field before Jase Biehl brought him in with a single. Biehl would steal second base before scoring on a single from Jordan, with the third run of the inning coming from a single by Dennis to bring Jordan home.
The Wolf Pack tacked on four more in the top of the fifth, when Nathan Law singled before Dennis plated him on a double. Condara reached first after being hit by a pitch, with Gabriel Trastoy doubling to plate Dennis and put runners in scoring position. A single by Elam brought both runners in to make it 7-0, however the Toppers added two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. While Loyola was able to score one more in the top of the seventh, Blue Mountain scored six more runs to tie the game at eight, forcing extra innings. As the bottom of the ninth inning concluded however, the game was called for the evening due to darkness.
The Wolf Pack will finish game two tomorrow at noon, beginning with the 10th inning. Following the completion of game two, the two teams will play their third game of the series.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Doug Faust
"In both games today, we swung the bats well and had some timely hitting. Both starting pitchers did a good job for us as well. Our bullpen couldn't hold a lead in either game, we had too many free passes and too many hit batters. We had too many errors on defense as well."
Pack Facts
Allen Dennis collected three hits today, adding three RBI to bring his team-leading total to 20.
Rawlings Elam returned to action today in game two, going 3-4 with a run scored and two RBI in his first game played since February 28th.
The Wolf Pack got contributions from a majority of their roster today, with 11 members of the team scoring a run and nine recording an RBI.
Both starters put up solid performances for the Pack today, with Jason Roussel pitching four innings and only allowing two earned runs, while Joseph Kuchler tossed 6.1 innings and only allowed three earned runs while striking out five.
You can keep up with the Pack this season by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
