Baseball wins series Saturday

WESTWEGO – After dropping Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, the Loyola University New Orleans baseball team bounced back in a strong way to win its series against LSU Alexandria. The Generals won the first game, 4-3, but the Wolf Pack took the nightcap, 15-1, in a run-rule-shortened game. 
 

The Pack is back in action on Tuesday when they travel across town to play SUNO at Wesley Barrow Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
 

Game 1: LSUA 4, #21 Loyola 3 (7)

After two scoreless innings, Loyola scored the game's first run in the third inning, and that score held till the two teams went back and forth in the sixth and seventh innings. Jaxon Buratt got on base in the third with a one-out single up the middle, then a double by Mooney during the next at-bat put two runners in scoring position. A groundout by Garrett Felix brought home Buratt to give Loyola a 1-0 lead. 
 

Prescott Marsh got the start for the Wolf Pack and pitched well during his four shutout innings. He struck out four and allowed just two hits before being lifted out of the game. 
 

The back-and-forth began in the sixth inning when LSU Alexandria took a 2-1 lead off two hits and a walk, but Loyola answered with two runs in the bottom half to regain the lead, 3-2. Mooney doubled for the second time in the game, and after a groundout by Felix, Collin Zeringue was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners. Landon Manson walked during the next at-bat, then Mooney scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Landon Trosclair, who was pinch-running, later came home on a hard-hit ball to shortstop to put the Wolf Pack back on top, 3-2. 
 

The Generals, however, used a two-run home run in the top of the seventh to take the lead for good. 
 

Game 2: #21 Loyola 15, LSUA 1 (7)

Loyola struck first with a pair of runs in the second and third innings. Manson and Zeringue walked to put two on with two outs in the second, then the two moved into scoring position on a passed ball. A single by Jake Mills would bring both runners home to give Loyola a quick 2-0 lead. In the third, Mooney got to second on a single and a wild pitch, and he came around to score off a double by Cole Romero. The Wolf Pack later made it a 4-0 lead in the same inning on a double steal play with Felix on third and Zeringue at first. 
 

The Wolf Pack pushed further ahead in the fifth inning when they scored four more. Mooney doubled to lead off the frame while Felix and Manson singled and walked during consecutive at-bats to load the bases with one out. Zeringue scored two of the runs on a single to deep right-center, 6-0, and Trosclair scored two more on a double down the left-field line, 8-0. 
 

Loyola brought the 10-run rule into effect by scoring seven more runs in the sixth inning. Romero, Zeringue, Trosclair and Mooney all picked up RBI in the frame, and Manson scored another run via a passed ball. 
 

The Generals had opportunities to score early, as they left six runners on base through three innings and 11 through five before scratching one across in the sixth. Brady Bowen pitched the first two innings with five strikeouts and no hits allowed, then Caden Durand earned the win in relief after pitching the next two innings with three strikeouts. Payton Cooper and Carter Holstein finished the final three innings, as Cooper allowed LSUA's lone run in two innings while Holstein made quick work in the seventh. 
 

Pack Facts

• Jeremy Kennedy reached 550 career wins as a head coach with the two wins this series. 159 of those have come with the Pack.

• Brandon Mooney has been a double machine so far this season. After doubling in the season opener Saturday, Mooney smacked a pair of doubles in each game on Saturday for a total of five for the series. 

• Mooney finished the series 7-for-9 at the plate with five runs scored and three RBI. 

• Five different players recorded multiple hits in the 15-1 win, with Mooney having three and Cole Romero, Garrett Felix, and Jake Mills each having two. 

• In the runs column, Mooney, Felix, and Manson each scored three times. 

• Felix reached base in all four of his plate appearances in Game 3, going 2-for-2 with three hits, two walks, and two stolen bases. 

• Collin Zeringue also reached base all four times in Game 3, going 1-for-1 with two runs, three RBI, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch. 

• Romero recorded at least one hit in each game during the LSUA series, four hits total.

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