Baseball falls to MGA Saturday

COCHRAN, Ga. – It was a tough weekend for the Loyola University New Orleans baseball team, as Middle Georgia State completed the series sweep of the 12th-ranked Wolf Pack with a 5-3 decision on Saturday. Loyola will head back to New Orleans with a 30-12 overall record and a 16-8 mark in the Southern States Athletic Conference. 
 

The Pack will host four games at Segnette Field next week, including Senior Day on Saturday. First, they'll take on non-conference in-state foe Louisiana Christian at 3 p.m. on Tuesday before a Friday-Saturday conference series against Faulkner. 
 

The Knights used two hit-by-pitches and a walk in the second inning to score the game's first two runs. With the bases loaded and two outs, a single to right brought home the runs, 2-0. 
 

Loyola quickly answered in the next half-inning to take the lead, 3-2. Brandon Mooney doubled with one out in the top of the third, and he moved to third base on a failed pick-off attempt by the MGA pitcher. With two outs, Cole Romero notched his second home run of the weekend to tie the game. Landon Manson kept things going with a single, moving to second when Collin Zeringue was plunked. Marcus Steen put the Pack in front with another single. 
 

After stranding four total runners on base in the third and fourth innings, Middle Georgia regained the advantage with a two-run fifth. Another run for the hosts in the seventh made the score 5-3.  
 

After the first three Loyola pitchers used in the game gave up the five earned runs on eight hits, Caden Durand and Frank Fernandez had solid outings in the seventh and eighth innings. Durand pitched the seventh with a couple of strikeouts on 14 pitches, and Fernandez struck out one on 13 pitches in the eighth. 

Pack Facts

• Cole Romero's two-run home run in the third inning was his 11th of the season, which puts him in a five-way tie for the third-most home runs in a season at Loyola. He's also tied for third in career HR with 19 total across two seasons. 

• Brandon Mooney's third-inning double was his 18th of the season. He's now tied with his own 2023 campaign and three others for the fifth-most doubles in a season in program history. He's hit 46 doubles in his career at Loyola, which also ranks fifth. 

• Romero and Landon Manson each stole a base on Saturday, and both players now have 20 stolen bases this season. That's tied for the second-most stolen bases on the team, with Landon Trosclair leading the way at 23.