Box Score The Loyola Wolf Pack got three home runs in Sunday's rubber match with the Crusaders, and that helped them claim the series over the SSAC rival
WESTWEGO – Sunday was much-needed for the Loyola Wolf Pack baseball team. After dropping its last three series, Loyola won its series over the 19th-ranked William Carey Crusaders with a 9-3 win at Segnette Field on Sunday.
The Pack is now 14-12 overall and 3-3 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, and they'll play two against the University of the Southwest on Tuesday before traveling to Blue Mountain College for another league three-game set starting next Friday.
After William Carey got on the board in the first inning, the Wolf Pack evened the game with a run in the bottom of the second. Kason Cullins led off the frame with a walk and moved over to second on a ground ball to the WCU third baseman. A sacrifice fly allowed Cullins to reach third, then after a walk put runners on the corners, the Wolf Pack used a double steal to plate the run, 1-1.
The Crusaders, again, took the lead with two more runs in the top of the fourth, but again, Loyola answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Christopher Bohrer walked with two outs, and that set up an Aaron Davis two-run home run to bring the score to 3-3.
Loyola used another long-ball to take its first lead of the game, 4-3, this time off the bat of two-hole hitter Payton Alexander. The Wolf Pack added another run in the seventh to make it a two-run ballgame, capitalizing on a leadoff walk by Allen Dennis. Cullins came up with the RBI in that frame, sending a pitch back up the middle to score Dennis from third.
The Pack blew the game open in the eighth to add some cushion, using four more hits to score four more runs. Davis led off the inning with another home run, then back-to-back singles by pinch-hitter Brady Morgan and Jake Mills allowed Alexander to pick up two more RBI with a double down the left-field line. Loyola loaded the bases with two walks, then a two-out hit-by-pitch from Bohrer gave the team the 9-3 advantage.
John Blanchard III entered to pitch in the fourth inning, and he earned the win with a dominant relief performance of 5.1 innings of work. He struck out just two but he allowed just two hits and no more runs to score to allow the Wolf Pack offense to come back and add to their lead. More importantly, though, Blanchard walked none during his outing.
Wolf Pack head coach Jeremy Kennedy
On John Blanchard III:
"He was outstanding. He had intent, he had a competitive spirit, he was executing pitches, and when he didn't execute, he worked through it. It didn't snowball on him. He was just himself today. He's been working to get there, and today was exactly what we needed."
On Aaron Davis:
"He's been putting in the work, so it didn't surprise me. He's got some power. He shows that in practice. He got some pitches that he could drive, and he drove them. That was good to see."
On the series win:
"Hopefully we gain a little confidence from it and get moving in the right direction. We just haven't played our brand of baseball, and it goes deeper than just execution. There are a lot of new guys learning what we want to do, and it's just taking a while. We have a lot of new guys and a lot of young guys. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction. It was just a team effort. Jake Mills is playing phenomenal defense, (Tyler) Hopkins caught all of those innings, Aaron ran down balls in the outfield, Payton Alexander's at-bats looked better, so we just have to keep plugging away at it. I think if we do that, eventually the results will show up, but we have to have the mental fortitude and the character to do that. We'll see if we do."
Pack Facts
Loyola got hits out of the leadoff spot in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings, including two home runs.
Aaron Davis had a career day at the plate, knocking his first two home runs over the left-field fence for a total of three RBI.
Payton Alexander also enjoyed an efficient hitting day, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, a walk, and three RBI.
Kason Cullins had the third multi-hit game off Sunday for the Wolf Pack, scoring and driving in a run in the process.
Six different players recorded a hit for the Pack, with Luke Clement and Brady Morgan getting in on the action as well.
Allen Dennis did not record a hit on Sunday, but he did walk three times, scoring once. Dennis is now third on Loyola's all-time runs list with 146 runs scored in his career. He needs to come across home plate eight more times this season to break the all-time record of 154.
Alexander is right on Dennis' tail for the runs record after scoring two against Carey. He's at 142 career runs, placing him in a three-way tie for fifth in Loyola's record book.
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