Box Score HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Loyola Wolf Pack's run at the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship came to an end on Sunday in the semifinal round, losing to top-seeded William Carey, 5-1. The 17th-ranked Wolf Pack will now wait for the NAIA National Championship selection show to find out if there's postseason baseball in store for the team, as the field will be announced on Thursday, May 10, at 4 p.m.
Carey scored the game's first four runs in the first two frames, plating one in the first and three more in the second. A combination of Stephen Still and Brady Bowen was able to keep the Crusaders off the board for the next four innings. Still started the game and Bowen entered in the fourth inning.
After getting a few base runners on in the second and third innings, Loyola finally broke through for its first run in the fourth inning. Christopher Bohrer singled through the right side with one out and a groundout off the bat of Anthony Fernandez moved him into scoring position with two outs. During the next at-bat, Jake Mills poked one to center field to bring home Bohrer and cut the WCU lead to 4-1.
William Carey added an insurance in the seventh inning to make it a 5-1 lead. Loyola had its chances, though, leaving seven on base during the last five innings of play.
Pack Facts
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In his second start of the tournament, Stephen Still threw five strikeouts to bring his season total to 97. That's a new Wolf Pack program record for a single season.
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Still also has the second spot on that leaderboard with 95 last season.
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In 5.1 relief innings, Brady Bowen pitched 7 strikeouts, bringing his season total to 71. That's the fifth-most strikeouts in a season in program history.
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Jake Mills reached base in all four of his at-bats, going 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk.
SSAC Baseball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 3
Game 1: #5 Loyola def. #4 Middle Georgia, 4-0
Game 2: #3 Mobile def. #6 Faulkner, 4-2
Game 3: #2 Talladega def. #7 Brewton-Parker, 6-4
Game 4: #8 Blue Mountain def. #1 William Carey, 8-7 (11)
Thursday, May 4
Game 5: #6 Faulkner def. #7 Brewton-Parker, 13-6, Brewton-Parker eliminated
Game 6: #1 William Carey def. #4 Middle Georgia, 14-1 (7), Middle Georgia eliminated
Game 7: #3 Mobile def. #2 Talladega, 7-5
Game 8: #5 Loyola def. #8 Blue Mountain, 14-2 (7)
Friday, May 5
Game 9: #6 Faulkner def. #2 Talladega, 4-3, Talladega eliminated
Game 10: #1 William Carey def. #8 Blue Mountain, 15-5 (8), Blue Mountain eliminated
Saturday, May 6
Game 11: #6 Faulkner def. #3 Mobile, 7-6
Game 12: #1 William Carey def. #5 Loyola, 16-13
Sunday, May 7
Game 13: #3 Mobile def. #6 Faulkner, 8-5, Faulkner eliminated
Game 14: #5 Loyola v. #1 William Carey def. #5 Loyola, 5-1, Loyola eliminated
Championship: #3 Mobile v. #1 William Carey 8:15 p.m.
All times CDT
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