Box Score The Loyola Wolf Pack scored early runs then blew the game open late in the first-round matchup against the Stillman Tigers
MOBILE, Ala. – In its first appearance at the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship since 2017, the top-seeded Loyola University New Orleans baseball team easily handled eighth-seeded Stillman College 12-0 in eight innings to start the tournament on a good note. The Wolf Pack are now slated to play the Mobile-William Carey winner at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Brenden Taravella got the start and turned in one of his best performances of the season, tying a season-high with seven strikeouts in his six innings of work. Taravella gave up his first hit in the fourth inning, allowing four total with one walk. Matthew Villa pitched the final two frames, and the freshman recorded two strikeouts and didn't allow a hit during his outing. Between Taravella and Villa, and Gabriel Trastoy throwing out three would-be base-stealers, no Stillman baserunner reached second base for the entire game.
While the two Wolf Pack pitchers were dealing on the bump, the Loyola offense used two runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Payton Alexander doubled with one out to start things off, then he moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a Michael Calamari double, who later scored two batters later thanks to an infield error.
The score remained the same until the Wolf Pack added their third run in the sixth inning, and it was a two-out walk for Kason Cullins that kept the inning alive. Cullins stole second immediately and scored on a Luke LaCoste single to center.
The big blow came in the seventh inning, though, as Loyola blew the game open with five runs to take an 8-0 advantage. Nine-hole hitter Patrick Crifasi started the rally with a single before moving to second after a sacrifice bunt from Trastoy. Alexander notched his second double of the game one batter later, scoring Crifasi, and Allen Dennis and Peyton Lacoste walked to load the bases with two outs. Cullins drove in two more runs with a single through the infield to make it 6-0, and Lacoste made it 7-0 on a double-steal play that put Cullins in scoring position. With the bases loaded two batters later, Crifasi walked to bring home the team's eighth run of the game.
The Wolf Pack brought the run-rule into play in the top of the eighth inning, and it was Alexander, who again, began things in the frame. He started with a triple to lead off the inning, and Calamari picked up an RBI with a single a couple of pitches later. Three more runs scored in the inning via bases-loaded walks, moving the score to 12-0.
On the first-round win:
"It could have gone a little better early, but we took care of business. Their first guy did a nice job of keeping us off-balanced and the wind was blowing in, so we had to hit the ball hard and flat today."
On Brenden Taravella's performance:
"Brenden was outstanding. He did exactly what we needed him to do. That was the best he's thrown the ball in a while, and he's been working to get that back. He was scuffling a little bit the last few times out, and obviously, his last outing was a short one. He made some adjustments throughout the week, and he did an outstanding job executing a ton of pitches. He didn't miss very many pitches today. He gave our offense some time to get going, and they did."
The offense late in the game and facing Stillman's starter:
"I think they just made a pitching change, and for whatever reason, we just couldn't get it going against (Stillman's starter). He did a good job against us at our place in the regular season, too. Out of all three of their starters, he was the one who gave us the most fits. I don't know, sometimes guys just have a team's number, and for whatever reason he's had our number."
On the team's mentality at this point of the season:
"We have just been hammering the things we need to do in order to be successful for months now. What you do as an individual, going pitch to pitch no matter what the circumstances are, and just having fun with it. Just play the game. The circumstances of the game don't really matter. The guys who can do that between the lines are going to play. It's late (in the season) and we've had a bunch of different lineups, and now we kind of now who the guys are who can do that. They're a mature group and they understand what their strengths and weaknesses are. If we don't score early, or if we get down early, it's no big deal. We just keep playing the game."
Pack Facts
With its 35th win of the season, and that ties the school record for most wins in a season (2000).
This is the first time Loyola has opened the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship tournament with a win.
Now riding a five-game winning streak, the Wolf Pack have 10-run-ruled their opponents in the last three contests.
Tying his season-best with seven strikeouts, Brenden Taravella now leads the Wolf Pack this season with 55 Ks. He also moved up to sole possession of seventh place in career strikeouts, now with 162 for his career.
Taravella pitched 12 innings in his two starts against Stillman this season. In those outings, he allowed no runs, gave up just five hits, and struck out 10 Tiger batters.
Gabriel Trastoy caught three base runners trying to steal, bringing his season total to 16.
Notching his 19th multi-hit game of the year and extending his on-base streak to 20 games, Payton Alexander went 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring two runs and hitting two doubles and a triple.
Alexander moved up in several categories in the Wolf Pack record book; most notably, he's now tied for the most runs in a season with 59. He's also tied for seventh for most hits in a season with 48, fifth for most triples in a season with four, and ninth for most hits in a season with 69.
Michael Calamari collected his 17th multi-hit game this year, also going for three hits while hitting two doubles and driving in two runs. He's second on the Pack with 13 doubles this year.
Calamari has recorded hits in nine straight games, and has now reached base in his last 18 contests.
Kason Cullins was the third Loyola player with three hits, as he went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, three RBI, and two stolen bases. It's his 12th multi-hit game of the season.
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 6
Game 1 | No. 1 Loyola def. No. 8 Stillman, 12-0 (8 innings)
Game 2 | No. 6 Brewton-Parker def. No. 3 Middle Georgia, 4-3
Game 3 | No. 2 Faulkner def. No. 7 Blue Mountain,12-0 (7 innings)
Game 4 | No. 5 William Carey def. No. 4 Mobile, 14-2 (7 innings)
Friday, May 7
Game 5 | 10 a.m. | Middle Georgia v. Blue Mountain
Game 6 | 1 p.m. | Stillman v. Mobile
Game 7 | 4 p.m. | Brewton-Parker v. Faulkner
Game 8 | 7 p.m. | Loyola v. William Carey
Saturday, May 7
Game 9 | 10 a.m. | Gm 7 loser v. Gm 5 winner
Game 10 | 1 p.m. | Gm 8 loser v. Gm 6 winner
Game 11 | 4 p.m. | Gm 7 winner v. Gm 9 winner
Game 12 | 7 p.m. | Gm 8 winner v. Gm 10 winner
Sunday, May 8
If Necessary | 10 a.m. | Gm 12 winner v. Gm 12 loser
If Necessary | 1 p.m. | Gm 11 winner v. Gm 11 loser
Championship | TBD
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