Box Score The No. 12-ranked Loyola baseball team opened up SSAC play on Friday with the first of three games against No. 6 Faulkner in Montgomery, Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 12-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack scored all of their runs via the long-ball on Friday, but it was enough to overcome No. 6 Faulkner, as the Pack dropped the first game of their three-game series with the Eagles, 9-5. It was also the Southern States Athletic Conference opener for the two programs, and Saturday will feature a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. to conclude the series.
The Wolf Pack (10-10) put itself in a tough hole to climb out from, but they made it a game late with five runs in two innings. Faulkner got on the board first with a lone run in the first inning before scoring three in the third and another run in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead. Two more runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings extended it to 9-0 before Loyola could cut into the score.
With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Tyler Hopkins and Jake Mills got something going with back-to-back hits. Payton Alexander came up in the next at-bat and hit his third home run of the season to slice into the lead, 9-3. In the next inning, Kason Cullins got a rally started with a one-out single, then Cameron Trosclair followed that up with his fourth homer of the season to make it a 9-5 ballgame.
Unfortunately, the score would hold for the Eagles, as Loyola had another base runner on in the ninth inning, but he was thrown out at home for the final out of the game. Loyola remained hitless until Allen Dennis and Aaron Davis each recorded a hit in the fourth inning, then another hit in the sixth helped build momentum into the seventh and eighth innings.
After Faulkner scored its nine runs, Matthew Villa worked the final two innings while allowing just one hit with two strikeouts. The sophomore did walk three, though, but the Wolf Pack defense made plays behind Villa to prevent any more runs for the Eagles.
Pack Facts
Payton Alexander had his fourth multi-hit game of the season on Friday, giving him 203 hits for his career. That makes him ninth all-time in Loyola history.
Alexander's three-run home run in the seventh inning was the senior's 19th career long-ball, and he's now tied for second all-time in program history.
Cameron Trosclair connected on a two-run home run in the eighth to mark four straight games with a hit. He's also homered in two of those games as well and now has four homers this season.
Allen Dennis has also put together a hitting streak, notching a hit in the last three games.
Aaron Davis also had a two-hit day, and he's currently on a three-game hitting streak as well.
Tyler Hopkins joins Davis and Dennis on a three-game hitting streak, too, with a hit in the seventh inning.
Kason Cullins was the third player with two hits in Friday's contest, his third multi-hit game of the season and his second straight game with more than one hit.
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.
