No. 11 Baseball begins SSAC series at Point Friday

WEST POINT, Ga. – In the middle of an eight-game road swing, the 11th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack traveled to West Point, Georgia, this weekend to take on Point University for another Southern States Athletics Conference series. The Pack and Skyhawks split Friday's doubleheader, as Loyola won the series opener, 6-5, before Point took the nightcap, 6-3.  
 

The two teams will meet back up at 12 p.m. CDT on Saturday for the rubber match.  
 

Game 1: #11 Loyola 6, Point 5

Loyola starter Prescott Marsh settled in after giving up two runs in the first inning, as he earned the win for the seven-inning game after pitching 4.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts. After the two-run first, Marsh faced just one over the minimum through the next three innings before the Skyhawks touched the sophomore for two more runs. All four earned runs were off home runs. 
 

The Pack offense was held scoreless until the fourth inning, scoring all six of their runs from then through the sixth inning. The Skyhawks didn't go away, though, scoring two runs in the fifth and one in the seventh to stay within one or two runs. Brady Bowen received the save after finishing the last 1.1 innings.  
 

Jaxon Buratt got on base in the fourth with two outs, then Drew Lee brought him home with a double during the next at-bat to make it a 2-1 lead for Point. Brandon Mooney and Garrett Felix led off the fifth inning with a single and a walk during consecutive at-bats, and the two moved into scoring position when Cole Romero flew out. A wild pitch scored Mooney to tie it, 2-2, and Felix came home, 3-2, when pinch-hitter Collin Zeringue reached on an error. After that, Marcus Steen reached third on a single and an error by the Point centerfielder, also scoring Manson, 4-2, who re-entered for Zeringue. Steen pushed Loyola's lead to 5-2 when he came home on a wild pitch during the next at-bat. After Point made it a one-run game in the bottom half of the fifth, Mooney scored the Wolf Pack's final run in the sixth on a passed ball. 
 

Game 2: Point 6, #11 Loyola 3

The Pack found paydirt first in Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader, pushing three runs across in the opening frame. Mooney doubled to start things, then Felix, Zeringue and Romero singled during three straight at-bats to load the bases with a 1-0 lead. Steen hit a sacirfice fly to score the second run, and Manson singled home the third run one batter later. 
 

Loyola didn't score the rest of the game, as the Point starter, who pitched the complete game, allowed just four more hits during the final eight frames. Point quickly took the lead in the second inning, scoring two runs each in first and second to go ahead 4-3. The hosts added lone runs in the fifth and seventh innings to bring the game to its final, 6-3. 
 

Pack Facts

• Prescott Marsh picked up his fourth win of the season in Game 1 on Friday. He's 4-1 as a starter this season, surpassing his record of 3-1 last year. 

• In Game 1, Brady Bowen earned the save, his sixth at Loyola. He moves into a tie for sixth in career saves in the Wolf Pack record book. 

• Brandon Mooney went 2-for-3 in Game 1 and totaled three hits, three runs on the day.

• So far this season, Mooney has 50 hits and has scored 48 times. 

• Cole Romero had a hit in each game, extending his hitting streak to 25 games.