Box Score The Wolf Pack fell to the Crusaders in Saturday's semifinal round of the SSAC Championship
COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Loyola Wolf Pack baseball team saw their run at the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship end on Saturday, losing in the semifinal round to William Carey, 13-6.
Loyola (33-22) will now wait to see if it earned a spot in this year's NAIA National Championship Opening Round, and that announcement will take place on Thursday, May 12, at 4 p.m. CDT live on the NAIA's Facebook page.
The Wolf Pack started the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first. Allen Dennis first smacked a solo home run during the second at-bat of the inning, then an error, walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases. A single by Christopher Bohrer scored two more runs to put Loyola ahead early in the game, however, William Carey scored lone runs in the second, fourth and fifth to tie the game midway through.
After the Crusaders scored another in the sixth, the big blow came when they scored five in the seventh inning to jump ahead 9-3. Payton Alexander and the Wolf Pack offense wasn't ready to give up, though, as Dennis and Luke Clement got on base before Alexander hit a three-run home run to cut the Crusaders' lead to 9-6.
WCU put the game away for good with two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to close out the ballgame.
Pack Facts
Allen Dennis led off the game with a home run to left, extending his single-season record, as he's now hit 15 home runs this season.
Dennis has batted in 56 runs this year, tying his RBI total from last year which is the fourth-most in a season in Loyola history. He's also scored 55 runs, which is the third-most in a season in the Wolf Pack record book.
Payton Alexander also hit a homer in the seventh inning, a three-run shot to left-center. Alexander has five home runs in the last nine days, and he's hit nine total this season. That's the 10th-most in program history and one fewer than his total from last season.
Alexander's triple in the ninth inning gave him eight for his career. That's tied for the second-most for a Loyola player in program history.
Luke Clement's seventh-inning single to right field extended his hitting streak to 19 games and his on-base streak to 33.
Aaron Davis is up to 23 stolen bases this season, which is tied for the seventh-most in a season in program history.
Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, May 4:
Game 1: #4 Brewton-Parker def. #5 Middle Georgia, 4-1
Game 2: #3 William Carey def. #6 Mobile, 16-14
Game 3: #7 Blue Mountain def. #2 Loyola, 14-13
Game 4: #1 Faulkner def. #8 Talladega, 9-8 (11)
Thursday, May 5:
Game 5: #2 Loyola def. #6 Mobile, 14-5 Mobile Eliminated
Game 6: #5 Middle Georgia def. #8 Talladega, 8-2 TalladegaEliminated
Game 7: #3 William Carey def. #7 Blue Mountain, 12-8
Game 8: #1 Faulkner def. #4 Brewton-Parker, 6-0
Friday, May 6:
Game 9: #2 Loyola def. #7 Blue Mountain, 11-9 Blue MountainEliminated
Game 10: #4 Brewton-Parker def. #5 Middle Georgia, 10-9 Middle Georgia Eliminated
Saturday, May 7:
Game 11: #3 William Carey def. #2 Loyola, 13-6 Loyola Eliminated
Game 12: #1 Faulkner v. #4 Brewton-Parker, 1:00 pm
If Necessary: #1 Faulkner v. #4 Brewton-Parker, 4:00 pm
*Championship: TBD
*Games 11 and 12 will be at 10 am and 1 pm EST Saturday. If the two unbeaten teams win, then the championship game will follow at 6 pm EST. If a team with a loss wins Game 11 and/or 12 that triggers 1-2 "If Necessary" games to follow on Saturday at 4 pm and 7 pm EST. The championship would then be played Sunday at a time to be determined.
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
