Box Score The Loyola Wolf Pack had two home runs and scored 11 runs in Friday's series-opening win over Lyon College
WESTWEGO – The Loyola Wolf Pack had a slow start in Friday's series-opener against Lyon College, but they made up for it on their way to an 11-2 win over the 14th-ranked Scots at Segnette Field. The two teams are set to finish the three-game series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
Lyon College got the game's first run in the third inning off Wolf Pack starting pitcher John Blanchard III, but that was the only blemish for the freshman. Blanchard struck out seven over his five innings of work, and he allowed the one earned run on six hits.
The Wolf Pack finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, using a two-run homer to left-center by Allen Dennis to give Loyola a 2-1 lead. In the next inning, Payton Alexander sent a shot to left field, hitting the top of the scoreboard at Segnette Field, to extend the Pack's advantage to 4-1.
Loyola scored a lone run in each of the sixth and seventh innings, pushing the lead to 6-2. Brandon Duhon picked up the RBI in the sixth, bringing Kason Cullins home, and Michael Calamari scored Alexander in the next frame with a single to right.
Loyola did the most damage in the eighth inning, however, plating five runs in the inning to put the game away. Aaron Davis' safety-squeeze bunt resulted in Zach Cook coming home, then a Tucker Ganley single down the right-field line brought home Duhon, which made it an 8-2 lead. Alexander's third RBI of the night came during the next at-bat, and Cullins picked up two RBI two batters later to make it an 11-2 game.
Brett Fisackerly relieved Blanchard in the sixth inning and pitched two innings while giving up one unearned run on two hits with four strikeouts. With Loyola leading 6-2, Matthew Champagne entered the game in the eighth inning with two Lyon College runners on base and no outs, and the sophomore struck out the next three batters to get out of the jam. Champagne struck out five in his two innings of work, as he closed out the contest.
On the team's offensive approach:
"Their starting pitcher was really good. He threw multiple pitches for strikes and had velocity, but I thought we did a good job of having quality at-bats. He made a few mistakes and we hammered them. He made some mistakes up in the zone and we capitalized on them.
"I thought Payton Alexander had a great day with quality at-bats. He's been doing that all year. He had a bad first at-bat and he fixed it, which is a big deal. He recovered from a bad first at-bat where he chased a pitch to put a good day together. Allen Dennis had a big hit, and we had a bunch of good at-bats, but those were the two big blows. I thought we battled and those were all good arms they threw at us tonight. That was a legitimate No. 1 pitcher on a good team and they beat them."
On starting pitcher John Blanchard III and reliever Matthew Champagne:
"(Blanchard) has a three-pitch mix, he's competitive, he's firm, and we really, really like him. He just has to be reliable and take the ball when it's his turn.
"(Champagne) has done an incredible job. His velocity has steadily climbed and he was throwing hard tonight. He just straight beat them with his fastball. We put him in, in a tough situation there with two guys on and nobody out, and he came in and struck out the side. He just challenged them and threw it by them."
Pack Facts
John Blanchard III, Brett Fisackerly, and Matthew Champagne combined to throw 16 strikeouts Friday, the most in the Dakstats era.
Gabriel Trastoy threw out two runners attempting to steal second base within the first three innings. He doubled his season total and now has caught four runners stealing this season in his 10 starts.
With his sixth home run of the season, Allen Dennis extended his lead atop Loyola's all-time home runs list, now with 27 for his career.
Payton Alexander's fifth homer of 2021 put him closer to entering the record book in that category. He's one away from being tied for 10th all-time.
Brandon Duhon has thus far stolen 46 bases with the Wolf Pack, moving him up to 6th on Loyola's career stolen bases list. Alexander, with 47, is fifth.
Tucker Ganley and Michael Calamari extended their on-base streaks to 10 games and eight games, respectively.
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