Box Score The 22nd-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack moved their Southern States Athletic Conference record to 11-1 after Saturday's win over Brewton-Parker
WESTWEGO – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team continues to string together wins, moving its winning streak to four games after Saturday's 10-5 win over Brewton-Parker at Segnette Field. The win makes it 16 victories in the last 17 games for the Wolf Pack, improving their overall record to 26-9 and their conference record to 11-1.
Loyola will hit the road for a non-conference doubleheader at LSU Alexandria Tuesday, and the first game is set for a 2 p.m. start. The Pack will return to the Southern States Athletic Conference schedule Friday when they travel to No. 11 Middle Georgia State for a three-game series.
For the seventh straight game, the Wolf Pack scored a run in the first inning, plating one in the opening frame before scoring three runs in the second. Payton Alexander and Michael Calamari had back-to-back one-out singles in the first inning, then Alexander came home when Allen Dennis reached base on an infield error.
Brewton-Parker took its first lead of the series in the second inning, scoring two to take a 2-1 lead. Gabriel Trastoy, though, notched his second home run of the season with one out in the bottom half of the second to tie the game quickly. Patrick Crifasi singled during the next at-bat, then he moved into scoring position after a balk. Alexander picked up an RBI single a batter later, and he gave the Wolf Pack a 4-2 lead after a Dennis sacrifice fly.
The Barons scored another run in the third, but Loyola got that run back in the next half-inning when Trastoy smacked a double off the left-field wall to plate Zach Cook. Leading 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth, Crifasi, Calamari and Dennis all came home to push the Wolf Pack's advantage to 8-4. Another lone run in the sixth for BPC cut the score to 8-5, but Loyola tacked on two more runs in the seventh inning to make it 10-5. In that frame, Dennis picked up his fourth and fifth RBI of the game with a single through the left side of the infield.
Alexander Acevedo pitched five innings in relief to earn the win for the Wolf Pack. The senior struck out five and scattered five hits while giving up an earned run, then he handed the ball to Trace Messina III to pitch the final inning.
On Saturday's win and the series sweep:
"I thought they did a good job dealing with some serious adversity with the strike zone. They handled it well and did what they needed to do to finish the series the right way.
"Weekends like this are important. When you're trying to chase down a championship, a lot of times it comes down to winning the games you're supposed to win. Taking three this weekend is important to keep us on track for what we're trying to accomplish."
On Saturday's offense:
"We saw a bunch of arms today that were turned over (from Friday) and we got some better pitches to hit. It should have been better because half those counts shouldn't have been the counts they were and half the strikeouts shouldn't have been strikeouts."
On Gabriel Trastoy at the plate:
"Our lineup this year has been extremely top-heavy, so any production that we can get from the bottom of the order right now is not only a bonus, but it makes our offense really, really tough to deal with. The production (Trastoy) had today was more than just a little bit. He hit a couple of balls off the wall and one over, so it was good to see him do that."
On Alexander Acevedo's pitching:
"He came in and filled up the strike zone. Facing the type of adversity back there with things out of our control, it's critical to have a guy who can come in and throw strikes. He did that and got outs. That was exactly what we needed him to do."
Pack Facts
The win Saturday gives Loyola its 11th SSAC win of the season, which is just one win away from the most wins since joining the conference prior to the 2011 season. The win also means Loyola will finish with a winning conference record, which is also a first since joining the SSAC.
Alexander Acevedo pitched five innings, which is his longest outing since February 19, 2019, when he went six innings against Byrant & Stratton College. His five strikeouts were the second-highest total of his career.
Gabriel Trastoy had a career day after going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a solo homer. It's his first game with three hits, his first game with more than one double, and he also locked up his first season with multiple home runs.
Allen Dennis now leads Loyola in RBI in 2021 after driving in five runs on Saturday, bringing his season total to 41. It's his fourth game this season with at least 4 RBI. Dennis also extended his on-base streak to 27 games.
Payton Alexander went 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring two runs. He's reached base in nine consecutive games. Alexander has scored 45 runs this year, which is tied for ninth in a single season in Loyola history.
Now riding a seven-game hit streak, Michael Calamari smacked two singles into right field Saturday, recording his fifth multi-hit performance in the past seven games.
Christopher Bohrer and Peyton Lacoste also recorded multi-hit games, posting two hits each.
Four players on the Wolf Pack have at least 10 multi-hit games this season. Alexander and Calamari are tied for the team with 14, while Dennis and Lacoste each have 11.
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.
