Baseball wins two on Tuesday

WESTWEGO – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team improved its record to 23-8 with a pair of wins on Tuesday, defeating the University of the Southwest 5-1 and 11-6 at Segnette Field. 
 

The 15th-ranked Wolf Pack will now bring their 10-5 Southern States Athletic Conference record into a home weekend series with Middle Georgia State (15-14, 10-8). The two will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1 p.m. before the series finale on Saturday at the same time. 
 

Game 1: #15 Loyola 5, Southwest 1 (7)

While Southwest scored the game's first run in the first inning, the Wolf Pack offense couldn't push a run across the plate until the fifth inning. Loyola left six runners on base throughout the first four innings, but Nathan Monceaux made sure not to let that happen in the fifth inning. With Brandon Mooney on base, Monceaux lifted one over the right-field fence to give Loyola a 2-1 lead. 
 

The Pack added three more runs in the sixth inning to take a 5-1 advantage. Landon Trosclair and Landon Manson walked during consecutive at-bats, and with both runners in scoring position, Mooney doubled down the left-field line to make it a 4-1 game. During the next at-bat, Jaxon Buratt tripled to left-center to score Mooney, 5-1, as the USW center fielder lost the ball in the sun.
 

Five Loyola pitchers combined to allow just three hits in the game, with Grant Goodbee earning the win in relief. He pitched the fourth inning and struck out two while not giving up a hit on 17 pitches. Payton Cooper got the start and worked the first two innings, allowing the earned run on two hits with a couple of strikeouts, and Hunter Ponson pitched the next two innings and only gave up one hit. Carter Holstein and Frank Fernandez pitched clean sixth and seventh innings, each with a strikeout. 
 

Game 2: #15 Loyola 11, Southwest 6 (7)

Loyola struck first quickly in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring four runs in the opening frame. Mooney started the inning by getting hit by a pitch, and Jaxon Buratt walked to put two on with no outs. After the two stole bases to get into scoring position, Collin Zeringue doubled to left-center to make it a 2-0 lead. Jed Cambre walked to put two on base again, and with runners on the corners, a double steal play brought home Zeringue, 3-0. Finally, Landon Manson reached on an error to score Cambre and give the Pack an early 4-0 lead. 
 

The Wolf Pack scored two runs each in the second and third innings to really pull away. After Jonathan Hammer led off the second with a single, Jaxon Buratt homered to left field to give the Pack a 6-0 lead. Aaron Davis brought the seventh run home when he reached on an error by the Mustangs' pitcher, then he came around to score after stealing two bases and a groundout bringing him home, 8-0. 
 

The Mustangs made it a game by scoring six in the top of the sixth, but Loyola pushed its lead back out to five with a three-run bottom half. A wild pitch scored Trosclair, a bases-loaded walk by Mooney brought home Ayden Authement, and a groundout off the bat of Buratt scored Davis, giving the Pack the 11-6 lead. 
 

Matthew Weil got the start and pitched the first two innings while only allowing one hit with three strikeouts. Because he was on a pitch count, he received the win for the Wolf Pack. Luca Tosca was efficient in his two innings, sitting down five Southwest batters while giving up a pair of hits, and Elvin Delic had two strikeouts in his inning of work. 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola set a new program record with 15 stolen bases in Game 2. 

• Landon Trosclair stole four bases to lead the team, making him a perfect 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts this season. 

• Brandon Mooney was second on the team with three swiped bags, while Collin Zeringue, Jed Cambre, and Aaron Davis each stole two. 

• Davis is now up to 75 stolen bases at Loyola, becoming just the second Wolf Pack player to reach that number. 

• Grant Goodbee was credited with the win in Game 1, his second pitching win at Loyola. Matthew Weil's Game 2 win was his fifth at Loyola. 

• Jaxon Buratt hit his first home run as a member of the Wolf Pack in Game 2. Buratt leads the starters with a .378 batting average this season. 

• Buratt and Mooney each have four-game hitting streaks, currently the team high. 

• Jonathan Hammer got his first hit of the season on Tuesday, combining for three hits between the two games. 

• Landon Manson hit a double in Game 2, giving him four doubles in the last seven days. 

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