No. 21 Baseball completes sweep of Night Hawks Saturday

THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team won its sixth game in a row on Saturday, also making it five straight wins in Southern States Athletic Conference play with a 17-1, run-rule win at Thomas University. The win moves the Pack to 12-3 overall and 5-1 in SSAC play. 
 

Loyola returns to Segnette Field for another Tuesday night matchup with cross-town rival, Xavier. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 

The scoring started early with two runs in the first inning. Collin Zeringue and Marcus Steen picked up RBI on back-to-back at-bats with a single and a sacrifice fly. After the Night Hawks scored their lone run in the second, the Wolf Pack answered with three more in the third. Cole Romero and Zeringue had consecutive RBI singles, 4-1, then Jaxon Buratt brought another run home on another sacrifice fly, 5-1. 
 

The big inning for the Wolf Pack came in the fourth with seven more runs. Romero and Zeringue, again, delivered from the three- and four-hole spots of the lineup, pushing the score to 8-1. Zeringue later scored on a wild pitch, 9-1, and Landon Trosclair and Jake Mills got the next three runs home during back-to-back at-bats, 12-1. 
 

Loyola began to pad its stats by scoring two more in the sixth and three in the seventh. Hunter Ponson, who's known as a relief pitcher for the Wolf Pack, blasted a two-run home run, 14-1, in the sixth. Then Ben Harris walked with the bases loaded in the seventh, 15-1, which was followed by a two-RBI single for Brandon Mooney, 17-1. 
 

Starting pitcher Payton Cooper got the win with four innings of work, striking out two while allowing just one earned run on two hits. Frank Fernandez pitched the next inning with two strikeouts in his season debut, followed by a clean inning from Willy Campo, then Matthew Weil closed the door in the seventh by striking out the side. 
 

Pack Facts

• Brandon Mooney reached base five different times on Saturday, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two walks and three runs scored. Mooney has posted multiple hits in seven consecutive games, including every game in conference play. 

• Collin Zeringue went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored. Zeringue logged multiple hits in all three games of the Thomas series, finishing the series 8-for-12 with two home runs, a double, four runs scored, and eight RBI. 

• Garrett Felix didn't have a hit in Game 1, but he bounced back in the final two games of the series with five hits between Game 2 and Game 3. Felix reached base in all three of his plate appearances Saturday, going 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk and three runs scored. 

• Hunter Ponson recorded his first hit as a member of the Wolf Pack, driving in two runs on a homer, in just his third at-bat with Loyola. 

• Myles Liggins got his second hit of the year, which was also his first double of the year.

• Anthony Fernandez didn't start Game 3, but he did finish with two hits and three at-bats, scoring three runs total. 

• Payton Cooper got the start on the mound for the Wolf Pack, being credited with his first win of the season. After allowing just two hits and one run over four innings, Frank Fernandez and Matthew Weil shut out the Night Hawks over the final three innings, with Loyola's pitchers combining for eight total strikeouts.