Box Score The No. 15 Loyola Wolf Pack and Spring Hill split their two-game season series after each team won road contests this season
WESTWEGO – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team dropped a matchup to Spring Hill Tuesday night, 12-6, moving its overall record to 30-11 with seven regular season games left on the schedule. With the Badgers' win at Segnette Field, the teams split their two-game season series, as the Wolf Pack won a 7-3 contest in Mobile earlier this season.
No. 15 Loyola will jump back into conference play this weekend, traveling to Mobile for a three-game Southern States Athletic Conference series. The two will play a single game Friday starting at 5 p.m., then Saturday's doubleheader is set for a noon start. Loyola's 13-2 SSAC record is one game clear of second-place Faulkner (12-3), two games ahead of Middle Georgia (10-5) and four games in front of the Rams (9-6).
Each team scored twice in the first inning, using two-run home runs to get on the board. After Spring Hill's two-run opening frame, Michael Calamari and Allen Dennis quickly tied the game with two outs in the next half-inning. Calamari doubled to left field to start the rally, then Allen Dennis smacked an opposite-field homer to make it a 2-2 game.
The Wolf Pack took their first lead of the game in the second inning, as Christopher Bohrer reached base on a fielder's choice and Gabriel Trastoy moved him to scoring position with a single to left field during the next at-bat. Payton Alexander picked up the RBI one batter later to give Loyola a 3-2 lead.
The story of the game, however, was Spring Hill's ability to answer the Wolf Pack runs. It started with a lone run in the third inning to tie the game 3-3, then after Trastoy notched a solo home run in the fourth inning to give Loyola a 4-3 lead, SHC scored three runs in the seventh inning to jump up 6-4.
The Wolf Pack, though, scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game again, 6-6. With Calamari and Dennis on first and second with two outs, a Kason Cullins liner to left field was dropped to allow the two unearned runs.
Spring Hill, once again, answered with six runs in the final two frames to pull away from the Wolf Pack.
On Tuesday's performance:
"We swung the bats well and had a lot of hard outs. Pitching-wise, it's a midweek game so you have guys who are fighting to stay around for the postseason. For those guys, these are big innings for them. A couple of those guys did well, a couple of those guys didn't. It is what it is because it's a midweek game. Midweek games are usually won with offense, and (Spring Hill) had more of that today. We'll just go back to work."
On moving Gabriel Trastoy to the leadoff spot:
"We have not had anybody step up and take the leadoff job, so we're still looking. With the courtesy runner, and obviously, we couldn't do that today because we had to play NCAA rules, but with NAIA rules and the courtesy runner, combined with Gabe swinging the bat well, if he does get on then we can courtesy run and it's like a traditional leadoff hitter. We'll see what we do this weekend. We'll talk it out, but we're still looking and we're still trying to find somebody who can have consistent at-bats to get on in front of the guys who are doing the damage. Tuesdays are a good opportunity to try some things and see what sticks."
Pack Facts
Allen Dennis' home run was his ninth of the season and the 30th for his career. He's now tied for sixth for most homers in a season in Loyola history.
Dennis drove in two runs, giving him 46 RBI for the season. He ties himself for ninth in a single season. Dennis also had 46 RBI in the 2019 season.
Payton Alexander isn't far behind Dennis, now with 44 RBI this season after bringing home Christopher Bohrer on an RBI single in the second.
Alexander is now on a nine-game hit streak. He also extended his on-base streak to 15 games.
Gabriel Trastoy has hit solo homers in the Wolf Pack's last two home games. He has more home runs this season (3) than in his previous three seasons combined (2).
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