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Box Score 2 The Loyola Wolf Pack and No. 19 William Carey started their three-game series with a doubleheader Saturday, as both teams earn wins
WESTWEGO – The Loyola Wolf Pack took on No. 19 William Carey in Southern States Athletic Conference action on Saturday, playing two games to start their three-game series. Loyola started the day with a 5-4 win in extra innings before the Crusaders ended the day with a 7-4 victory to force a rubber match on Sunday. First pitch from Segnette Field is set for 1 p.m.
Loyola is now 13-12 overall and 2-3 in SSAC play.
Game 1: Loyola 5, #19 William Carey 4 (8)
After two hitless innings for both teams, Loyola struck first with two runs in the bottom of the third. Christopher Bohrer got things started with a leadoff double to left, then a bunt single from Tyler Hopkins quickly put two on with no outs. After a passed ball put two runners in scoring position, Jake Mills brought the first run home with a single through the left side. Courtesy runner Tuckey Ganley later made it 2-0 when he scored on a passed ball.
William Carey, though, matched the Pack with two runs in the next half-inning, scoring two in the top of the fourth. After a scoreless fifth for both teams, the Crusaders went up 4-2 in the top half of the sixth, however, the Wolf Pack answered immediately. With one out, Garrett Beadle singled to the shortstop and stole second during the next at-bat. After a walk and a hit batter, Ganley, who was pinch-hitting, singled to tie the game, 4-4, in the sixth.
In the regularly scheduled seven-inning contest, the game went into extras when both teams failed to score in the seventh. After Joshua Orr pitched a clean top of the eighth, Loyola loaded the bases with a single by Cameron Trosclair, Kason Cullins was hit by a pitch, and an Aaron Davis walk. With one out, Bohrer sent a sharply hit ball to the shortstop, who couldn't handle the groundball, which allowed the game-winning run to score.
Orr picked up his second win of the season after pitching the final 2.1 innings while giving up just one hit with a pair of strikeouts. Stephen Still got the start for the Wolf Pack and struck out seven over his four innings of work, and Brett Fisackerly worked the next 1.2 innings with a strikeout. Both pitchers allowed two earned runs each.
Game 2: #19 William Carey 7, Loyola 4
The Crusaders took the lead with two runs in the second and third innings each before Loyola could get on the board. With two outs in the fourth, Trosclair and Cullins hit back-to-back doubles to plate the first run for the Wolf Pack. The Crusaders, though, pushed three more runs across in the fifth inning to jump up 7-1.
Loyola got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning, as things got started with a Davis walk, who got to third two at-bats later. After Jake Mills walked to put two on, a wild pitch and a single by Payton Alexander made it a 7-3 ballgame.
Since the first game went to extra innings, Game 2 of the doubleheader was only a seven-inning game, and the Wolf Pack made things interesting during their last time at the plate. After two quick outs, Alexander, Allen Dennis and Trosclair walked consecutively, then Cullins was hit by a pitch to cut the deficit to 7-4. With the tying run at the plate, the William Carey pitcher got a game-ending groundout.
Matthew Bratton pitched in relief and provided the Loyola offense a chance to fight back. He threw a scoreless 2.1 innings and face just nine batters while giving up two hits.
Wolf Pack head coach Jeremy Kennedy
"We keep saying it, and it's just facts. If you don't throw strikes, you can't win, and we're either really good at it or terrible. We can't stop the spiral when it starts, and until we get better at doing that, it's going to continue to be like that. The first game was different. Josh (Orr) was outstanding. He gave us confidence because he was executing pitches and throwing with intent. Everybody sees that and everybody feeds off of that. It was vice versa in the second game. Bad body langue, can't throw strikes, complaining about the strike zone, and the defense sits out there for 30 minutes in the freezing cold. You just can't win that way."
On Tucker Ganley in the first game:
"I thought Tucker did a good job in the first game coming off the bench. It was a tough day to come off the bench. It's cold and he came off the bench and had a good at-bat to get a two-strike hit right there to tie the ballgame."
On Matthew Bratton in the second game:
"I thought Bratton did a good job in the second game. He hasn't pitched much at all, and he came in and threw a ton of strikes. That's what we needed right there. If we did that the whole game it's a different game."
Pack Facts
Joshua Orr picked up his second win of the season after pitching the final 2.1 innings of Game 1 while giving up just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
Allen Dennis recorded two hits in Game 2, giving him eight multi-hit games this season.
One of his hits was a double, giving Dennis 45 career doubles, which is tied for fourth all-time in Loyola history.
Also now with 682 career at-bats, only three players have been to the plate more in Loyola history.
This was the second victory against a ranked opponent for the Wolf Pack this season. The team had 12 ranked wins last season.
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.
