Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Wolf Pack put up a good fight but lost both games of Saturday's doubleheader with the Wildcats
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Loyola Wolf Pack was one pitch away from winning their series over the Bethel Wildcats, but the home team found a way to take both games Saturday to claim the series. Loyola's record drops to 17-8 overall and 2-4 in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
Loyola won't play a midweek game this week, and it'll continue its road trip by traveling to Brewton-Parker next weekend for a three-game set.
Game 1: Bethel 4, Loyola 0
Loyola starter Matthew Champagne pitched six strong innings, but Bethel came away with the 4-0 shutout win in the seven-inning contest. The Wildcats did most of their damage in the third inning, scoring three runs off three hits. They added an insurance run in the sixth inning to put the game away.
Champagne allowed the four earned runs off eight hits during his six-inning outing, and he struck out four while walking two. Bethel's Marco Santa limited the Pack to just four hits in seven innings, totaling five strikeouts and giving up just one free pass via a hit by pitch.
Loyola got hits in each of the first three innings, as Allen Dennis and Brandon Duhon singled with two outs in the first and third, respectively, while Jase Biehl had a one-out hit in the second. Duhon and Biehl, however, were both thrown out on the base paths and Dennis was left stranded. Payton Alexander was hit by a pitch in the fourth, and Patrick Crifasi singled in the seventh, but the Wolf Pack went down in order in the fifth and sixth innings.
Game 2: Bethel, Loyola, Bethel
The Wolf Pack trailed 8-1 entering the eighth inning of the second game of the day, but the Pack scored seven runs in the frame to make it a game. Duhon, Zach Cook and Dennis all walked to start the eighth, then Alexander singled and Crifasi walked to plate the first two runs of the inning. Biehl doubled to score two more, cutting Bethel's lead to 8-5, then Michael Toscano walked to load the bases again. Another walk, this time while Landon Trosclair was at the plate, made it an 8-6 game, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Duhon finished Loyola's scoring, 8-7.
Loyola had a chance to tie the game in the ninth, but with the tying run in scoring position, a pop out and a strikeout ended the game.
Bethel got things going by scoring its first run in the first inning, but the big blow came in the third when the Wildcats scored five to jump up 6-0. Crifasi got an RBI in the fourth to cut Bethel's lead to 6-1, but two more runs by the Wildcats in the bottom half of the inning pushed them ahead 8-1.
Pack Facts
Once again, Allen Dennis and Payton Alexander prove why the two are the three- and four-hitters in the lineup. Dennis recorded two hits and walked once to improve his on-base streak to 28 games, dating back to last season. Alexander has reached base in every game this season, as he recorded two hits and was hit by a pitch to reach base in both games and extended his on-base streak to 26.
Patrick Crifasi extended his hit streak to a team-high nine with a hit in Game 1 Saturday and two in the second. He's also reached base in 15 straight games.
Brandon Duhon stole his 34th base of the season, and the first-year Loyola player has already made his way into the Top 10 in Loyola for career stolen bases. He's currently tied for 10th all-time in program history.
Matthew Champagne's six innings in Game 1 on Saturday tied a career-high, as the sophomore also pitched six innings earlier this season.
Gary Cavallo Jr. pitched 1.2 innings in the series with Bethel, and he faced the minimum of five batters. His ERA is now down to 2.55 on the season with 17.2 innings under his belt.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
