Baseball run-rules Xavier Tuesday

WESTWEGO – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team handled business on Tuesday, defeating Xavier, 11-1, in a run-rule, seven-inning game at Segnette Field. The Wolf Pack (9-3, 2-1 in SSAC) will now hit the road this weekend, traveling to Thomas University for another Southern States Athletic Conference matchup. 
 

Charlie Nichols got the win with four stellar innings of work. He struck out two in the first, two in the second, three in the third, and two in the fourth to record nine strikeouts throughout his outing. He didn't allow a hit until the fourth either, giving up two with an earned run. Elvin Delic, Andrew Riedell and Grant LaBelle all pitched an inning of relief, as none of the three gave up a run. Delic and Riedell each recorded a strikeout while LaBelle had two. 
 

Loyola's six runs in the first inning set the tone offensively for the rest of the game. With the bases loaded, Anthony Fernandez sent a pitch 375 feet to left field to quickly give the Wolf Pack a 4-0 lead. Brandon Mooney hit a leadoff double then Garrett Felix and Cole Romero had back-to-back walks to set up Fernandez's grand slam. Landon Manson kept things going with a double down the right-field line, and he later scored on a double-steal play with Landon Trosclair, who came home on a groundout later in the frame, 6-0. 
 

The Pack plated three more in the third inning, as Fernandez tripled and Manson doubled in consecutive at-bats. A double by Trosclair and a groundout from Mills brought home the other two runs in the frame to give Loyola a 9-0 lead. The Wolf Pack made it 10-1 in the fourth with another groundout, this time off the bat of Marcus Steen, and the run rule came into effect in the seventh with a bases-loaded walk, 11-1. 
 

Pack Facts

• This was Loyola's seventh game scoring at least 10 runs, with the team collecting at least 10 hits in all of those games, and it's the Pack's third win this year by the 10-run rule.

• After a home run in his first at-bat of the year on Saturday, Anthony Fernandez belted a first-inning grand slam Tuesday, followed by a triple in his next plate appearance. Fernandez now has nine home runs in his Loyola career. 

• Brandon Mooney went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, his fourth consecutive game with multiple hits. 

• Landon Manson hit a pair of doubles down the first- and third-base lines, finishing the game 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored. He's had at least two runs and two hits in three straight games, with three doubles hit in that span. 

• In his two plate appearances, Landon Trosclair hit a double and walked, eventually coming around to score both times due to stellar base running. Trosclair stole four bases on Tuesday, including home, and moved up to a tie for eighth in the Wolf Pack record book with 49 swiped bags in their career. 

• Charlie Nicholls got his first start of the season on the mound, and he retired the first 11 straight batters, a streak which included nine strikeouts. That's a game high for any Wolf Pack pitcher this year. 

• Three different Loyola pitchers made their season debuts on Tuesday: Elvin Delic, Andrew Riedell, and Grant LaBelle. The three combined for four strikeouts and just one hit allowed in three scoreless innings.