Loyola wins series finale

WESTWEGO – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team won a wild one on Saturday, taking the series finale over Point University, 12-11, at Segnette Field. The Wolf Pack is now 11-2 overall and 4-2 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, as they'll host non-conference foe SUNO on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
 

The Wolf Pack scored in the first four innings to quickly build an 8-3 lead, and it started with a three-run first inning. Brandon Mooney started the inning with a walk, a single by Jaxon Buratt and a walk for Collin Zeringue loaded the bases with no outs. Prescott Marsh brought home the first run on a fielder's choice, then back-to-back RBI singles by Jed Cambre and Landon Manson made it a 3-1 lead for the Wolf Pack. Zeringue gave Loyola a 4-1 lead in the second with a sacrifice fly, and after Point scored two in the top of the third, Jake Mills pushed Loyola's lead to 5-3 with an RBI ground out. 
 

Loyola plated three more runs in the fourth, 8-3, as Cambre picked up two RBI on a single to right and Garrett Beadle came through with a pinch-hit RBI single through the right side. The Skyhawks, however, brought home three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to tie it, 8-8. 
 

Point scored another run in the top of the seventh to take a 9-8 advantage, but the Wolf Pack bounced back with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. Mooney got the rally going with a no-doubter over the right-centerfield fence, 9-9, and Buratt kept it going with a walk during the next at-bat. Steen laid down a bunt one batter later and was going to be safe for an infield single, but the Point pitcher threw the ball away to allow Buratt to come all the way around to score, 10-9. Zeringue walked and moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt, which prompted Point to intentionally walk Cambre to load the bases with one out.  Manson stepped up with a two-RBI single up the middle one batter later, 12-9, to finish off Loyola's scoring in the frame. 
 

The Skyhawks made it four straight innings with a two-run home run in the eighth, 12-11, but a combination of Frank Fernandez and Payton Cooper closed the door with the latter collecting the save. Fernandez struck out two in one inning in relief, then Cooper needed just three pitches in the ninth to get three outs. 
 

Pack Facts

• Jaxon Buratt extended his team-best hitting streak to seven games as he went 3-for-5 with a walk, a double and a pair of runs. 

• Despite only playing in nine games of Loyola's 13 games this year, Buratt has a team-high 15 hits in 30 at-bats for a .500 batting average that's best on the Wolf Pack and third in the SSAC. 

• Fellow freshman Jed Cambre also totaled three hits in a 3-for-4 game at the plate, scoring two runs with a walk and three RBI. 

• Cambre's got the second-highest batting average among the starters at .438, with his 14 hits also ranking second on the team this season. 

• Landon Manson reached base all five times he stepped up to the plate on Saturday, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBI and two hit by pitches. He also had the go-ahead, 2-RBI single in the 7th inning that gave Loyola the 12 runs it needed to claim the win. 

• Brandon Mooney hit his third home run as a member of the Wolf Pack, and first of the season, to tie the game at 9-9 in the seventh. 

• Mooney also extended his on-base streak to 17 games dating back to last season.