Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Loyola's pitchers combined to throw 26 scoreless innings over the three games against Stillman College this weekend at Segnette Field
WESTWEGO – The Loyola Wolf Pack made this weekend's Southern States Athletic Conference opening series look easy, shutting out Stillman College in all three games. After a 10-0 win Friday night, the Wolf Pack earned 5-0 and 6-0 wins Saturday to improve their record to 17-8 overall and 3-0 in SSAC play.
Loyola will travel to William Carey next weekend for another three-game SSAC series. Game 1 is set for Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
Game 1: Loyola 5, Stillman 0 (7)
After earning the SSAC Pitcher of the Week award with his strong performance against No. 14 Lyon College last week, Brenden Taravella picked up right where he left off Saturday against Stillman. Taravella allowed just one hit in his six innings of work, and he also recorded three strikeouts and walked just one.
Taravella's lone hit allowed came in the second inning, as he pitched clean frames in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings while walking a batter in the fifth. Brett Fisackerly pitched the seventh inning, and he struck out two of the four batters he faced.
While Taravella was dealing, the Wolf Pack offense scored all five runs in the first two frames to take an early lead. It started when Tucker Ganley began the first inning with a walk followed by an Allen Dennis walk and a single by Michael Calamari to load the bases with one out. During the next at-bat, Peyton Lacoste sent a pitch to the left-field wall to plate the two runs, then Kason Cullins loaded the bases again after being hit by a pitch. Gabriel Trastoy walked during the next at-bat to make it 3-0 and Landon Trosclair pushed the advantage to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Payton Alexander's solo shot in the second inning made it 5-0 to end Loyola's scoring.
Game 2: Loyola 6, Stillman 0
Stephen Still matched Taravella's performance in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, throwing 10 strikeouts in his seven-inning, one-hit outing. Still struck out the first four Tigers he faced, and he had seven through his first three innings. The Tigers broke up Still's no-hit bid in the fifth inning, and that was the only base runner Stillman College could get for the entire game.
Wes Anderson pitched the eighth inning with two strikeouts, then Reid Perkins finished things off in the ninth with a strikeout.
The Wolf Pack only scored one run through the first five innings, as Ganley picked up an RBI single in the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. Cullins notched an RBI single in the sixth inning, giving the Wolf Pack a 2-0 lead before plating two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings.
Christopher Bohrer led off the seventh inning with a solo home run, then later in the inning, Calamari singled to score Aaron Davis and put Loyola up 4-0 lead late. Trastoy recorded an RBI single and Ross Scelfo walked with the bases loaded in the next frame to plate the game's final two runs.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Jeremy Kennedy
On Stephen Still's performance:
"He was outstanding. He had the best intent he's had all year. He threw a bunch of strikes, he had tempo throwing his pitches and he had velocity on his fastball. A-plus on his mentality, intent and competitive spirit today."
On the bullpen:
"They all did a great job. Wes came in and did a great job, and it's been two times Reid has had an opportunity this year and both times he's done a great job. We're solidifying our bullpen, and when guys start getting roles and knowing when they're coming in, things start to click a little better."
On the team's offense Saturday:
"I thought the last (Stillman) pitcher did a good job against us. I thought we should have done better because we gave him a lot of easy fly ball outs, but you give him a little bit of credit for that, too. We got it done at the end and squared some balls up. We probably should have done a little bit better, but we got the job done. At the end of the day, that's what counts."
On starting catcher Gabriel Trastoy:
"Gabe did a tremendous job handling the pitching staff all weekend. He caught a bunch of innings and his leadership showed. He's leading those guys in the right direction, for sure."
Pack Facts
Loyola's 3-0 start in conference play is the program's best since entering the Southern States Athletic Conference in 2010.
This is also the first conference sweep for the Wolf Pack since April 2017, when the team won three-straight road games against Brewton-Parker.
Payton Alexander's home run in Game 1 was his sixth of the season and 12th of his Wolf Pack career. He's now in a four-way tie for 10th on Loyola's career home runs list.
Alexander stole two bases in Game 2, bringing his total to 49 for his career. He's now tied for 4th in Wolf Pack career.
The Prairieville, La. native had a hit and two walks in Game 2, extending his on-base streak to 15 games. He's also had a hit in nine-straight.
Tucker Ganley and Allen Dennis each also extended their on-base streaks by two games. Dennis has reached base in 17 consecutive games, while Ganley's streak is at 16.
Christopher Bohrer's homer in Game 2 was his second of the season. His first came in his Loyola debut against Texas A&M-Texarkana on February 5.
Loyola has a new leader in stolen bases this season after Kason Cullins swiped three bags between the two games. He leads the Pack with 14 stolen bases this season.
Brenden Taravella now owns a 3-0 record as a starter this season. He gave up just one hit, which is his career-best in a starting performance.
Freshman Stephen Still got his first win in a Wolf Pack uniform. He threw a career-best 10 strikeouts while giving up just one hit in seven innings of work.
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.
