Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Loyola Wolf Pack traveled to Alexandria Monday for a doubleheader with the Generals, returning home with their winning streak intact.
ALEXANDRIA, La. – The 22nd-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack hit the road Monday for a doubleheader against LSU Alexandria, sweeping both games 2-1 and 13-2. The wins made it sixth straight for Loyola and it improved its record to 28-9 overall.
Loyola will travel again this weekend, taking on No. 11 Middle Georgia State in a Southern States Athletic Conference three-game series. The Wolf Pack is currently 11-1 in conference play and atop the conference standings, and the Knights are two games back with a 9-3 SSAC mark. Friday will feature a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. CST, and Saturday's series finale is set for noon CST.
Game 1: #22 Loyola 2, LSUA 1
Reid Perkins and Brett Fisackerly combined to throw a seven-inning gem, only allowing LSU Alexandria to score on a solo home run in the seventh inning. Perkins got the start and earned the win with his six strikeouts in five shutout innings, then Fisackerly earned the six-out save while only allowing the home run in the final frame.
Loyola's two runs came in the first inning, which proved to be enough to secure the win. Payton Alexander got things started with a one-out single to right-center, then Michael Calamari was hit by a pitch to quickly put two on base. Peyton Lacoste's single to left gave Loyola a 1-0 lead, and Ross Selvaggi walked with the bases loaded two batters later to make it 2-0.
Game 2: #22 Loyola 13, LSUA 2
The Wolf Pack jumped all over the Generals in the second game of the day, starting with three runs in the first inning. Peyton Lacoste singled with Alexander and Allen Dennis on base to plate the first run, then Kason Cullins tripled to score two more. The Generals, however, answered in the bottom half of the inning to cut the score to 3-2.
The score remained the same until the fourth inning, as the Wolf Pack scored 10 runs in the next three frames. Landon Trosclair's solo home run in the fourth made it 4-2, then four more runs in the fifth pushed the lead to 8-2. Dennis doubled to score one in that inning, and a Lacoste single scored two more. Lacoste later scored after two wild pitches by the LSUA pitcher.
The big blow came in the sixth inning, though. After Loyola already scored one to take a 9-2 lead, pinch-hitter Luke LaCoste blasted a grand slam to put the game out of reach.
Rhyse Dee, Michael Toscano, Wyatt Lankford and Matthew Villa all saw pitching action in the game, combining to strike out nine LSUA batters. Dee started the game and allowed the two lone hits of the contest, then Toscano pitched a solid inning, Lankford struck out five in 2.1 innings, and Villa finished it off with three strikeouts in two frames.
Pack Facts
Loyola scored in the first inning of both games Monday, making it nine straight games with runs in the opening frame.
Reid Perkins' five innings and six strikeouts in Game 1 of the doubleheader were both season-highs for the freshman. He also earned his second win of the season.
Brett Fisackerly has earned the save in back-to-back outings, matching his season total of two saves from last season.
Luke LaCoste now has four home runs in his career, and half of those are grand slams. LaCoste also hit a grand slam as a freshman in a 24-2 rout of Dallas Christian College on February 24, 2018.
Payton Alexander extended his on-base streak to 11 games, recording hits in both games of the doubleheader. He hit two singles in Game 1 and now leads the team with 15 multi-hit games this year.
Alexander leads Loyola this season with 48 runs after scoring three on Monday. He's now tied for third in Loyola's records for most runs in a season.
With two hits each in the second game, Allen Dennis and Peyton Lacoste each secured their 12th multi-hit games of the year.
Dennis scored three runs in Game 2, bringing his career total to 118. He's now tied for seventh for most runs scored by a player in Loyola history. He also now has hit 36 doubles this year, tying him for ninth-most doubles in a season in the record book.
Michael Calamari's seven-game hit streak came to an end, but he did reach base in both games, scoring three runs in the process and extending his on-base streak to nine games.
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.
