After falling in game one, the Wolf Pack rally in game two and upset the 11th ranked team in the country behind stellar pitching
WESTWEGO, La. - Hosting yet another ranked conference opponent, the Loyola University New Orleans baseball team dropped game one 10-3 before coming back to take game two over No. 11 William carey 4-3 Friday night at Segnette Field.
Game one began a close one, with William Carey (27-15, 11-6) striking early for three runs in the first inning. The Wolf Pack (20-26, 3-16) were able to plate two in response however, beginning with Charlie Seiter as he reached first on a hit-by-pitch. After Allen Dennis put two on for Loyola, Payton Alexander smacked a single to left field that platted both runs to make it a one-run ball game.
The 11th-ranked visitors began to pull away however, scoring three more in the third inning. While the Pack responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning on a sac-fly from Alexander, that was all the offense was able to put together, with Loyola eventually falling by a final score of 10-3.
In game two the Wolf Pack bats came alive quickly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. A leadoff single by Cook extended his hitting streak to 10 games, before Alexander drove him in on a single of his own. After Dennis reached on a walk and came around to score on an error, the Pack added another when Alexander came across on a passed ball. Reaching on a walk, Brandon Wilson Jr. stole second base before a wild throw by the catcher into the outfield allowed the lead runner Jesse Jordan to score, making it 4-0.
Today's game two starter, Gary Cavallo Jr., was dominating, keeping the Crusaders off the board for the first four innings. The visitors would plate two in the top of the fifth, with Cavallo pitching into the seventh inning, while striking out six.
After William Carey was able to score one more in the top of the eighth, Joseph Kuchler came on in relief and shut the door, throwing two innings and only allowing a single hit to seal the huge 5-4 victory for the Pack.
The Wolf Pack will play their third game of the series with William Carey on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Segnette Field.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Doug Faust
"In the first game, give them credit, their pitcher pitched well and they swung the bats really well and they got big hits. They didn't have any really big innings against us but they had three three-run innings against us, so they just took advantage of whatever we gave them. We made a couple of mistakes, and they made us pay."
"I was really proud of the guys in the second game, to bounce back the way they did. We jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and luckily that was enough, that held up for us. Gary [Cavallo Jr.] threw a great game, seven innings for us, and then Joseph [Kuchler] there at the end, that's what Joseph does. He's your senior pitcher, he's cool and collected, he's not going to get nervous or panic, he'll just make his pitches. He also fielded his position really well in the eighth inning too, made two nice plays on those comebackers."
"After losing so many of those kinds of games this year, it's good to win it. When it was looking a little bleak in the eighth, runners on second and third, and we got out of it. It's a good win, hopefully we can carry on in the remainder of our conference games, get into our conference tournament, keep winning close games, and finish the season the right way."
Pack Facts
Zachary Cook extended his hitting streak to ten games and is now batting .417 (15/36) with 10 runs scored, two doubles, three RBI and five stolen bases during that stretch.
Payton Alexander drove in four runs on the day, and now 22 on the year.
Game two starter Gary Cavallo Jr. put up a stellar performance today, tossing a career-high seven innings while matching his career-best for strikeouts in a game with six.
Senior Joseph Kuchler came on in relief for only the second time this season, earning his first save on the year and third for his career to close out game two.
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.
