No. 17 Loyola claims series over No. 12 Faulkner

WESTWEGO, La. – After taking Friday night's Game 1, the 17th-ranked Loyola University New Orleans baseball team split Saturday's doubleheader with No. 12 Faulkner to win another Southern States Athletic Conference series. The Eagles got the better of the Wolf Pack in the first game of the day, 9-5, but Loyola used four pitchers in the rubber match to shut out Faulkner, 2-0. 
 

The Pack is now 33-13 overall and 19-8 in SSAC play. Saturday concluded Loyola's home schedule, and it'll wrap up the regular season with three games at first-place William Carey starting on Thursday.
 

Game 1: #12 Faulkner 9, #17 Loyola 5

Like Friday night, the Eagles struck first in the opening frame, this time only plating two runs. They eventually went out in front 6-0 with another run in the second and three more in the third while Loyola could only tally two hits over that time. 
 

Charlie Nichols entered to pitch midway through the third, and he put a zero on the board in the top of the fourth and fifth innings. 
 

Loyola left two runners on base in the first three innings combined, but its best scoring opportunity came in the fourth when it loaded the bases with two outs. The Pack even got two runners in scoring position with one out, but the Faulkner pitcher worked his way out of the jam. 
 

The Eagles added two more in the sixth to take an 8-0 lead before Loyola could scratch one across in the bottom half of the inning, 8-1. Ben Harris picked up the RBI on a single to center. 
 

After Faulkner added an insurance run in the seventh, Loyola tried to mount the comeback, however, its four-run inning was enough. Brandon Mooney singled and Garrett Felix reached on an infield error. Both eventually scored when Cole Romero singled to the left fielder, who misplayed the ball to plate the runs and get Romero to third. Collin Zeringue hit a two-run home run to make it a four-run deficit, 9-5, but that was it for the Wolf Pack offense. 
 

Game 2: #17 Loyola 2, #12 Faulkner 0

After Loyola starter Thomas Hakimian recorded three strikeouts in the top of the first, it was the Wolf Pack's turn to strike first. Mooney and Romero both hit singles, then the bases got loaded on a walk for Zeringue. A wild pitch allowed Mooney to score the game's first run. 
 

A couple of good defensive plays helped keep the Eagles off the board in the second and third innings. Drew Lee and Anthony Fernandez combined to catch a runner stealing in the second, and Jaxon Buratt made a good play at third to start a 5-3 double play in the next frame. Both plays ended Faulkner's offensive half of the inning. 
 

Hakimian added to his strikeout total with three more punch-outs in the fourth and fifth innings combined, and he also picked off a runner at first base to keep Faulkner at zero runs. That ended his outing, as the junior recorded six strikeouts while giving up just three hits in five shutout innings to earn the win.  
 

Caden Durand entered to pitch in the sixth inning with the bases loaded, promptly getting a fly out to right to end another Faulkner threat. Garrett Felix made it a 2-0 lead in the bottom half. He tripled down the right-field line with one out and scored two batters later on a passed ball. 
 

Faulkner, again, looked ready to put a run on the board in the seventh, but Durand got out of trouble with another double play ball started by Buratt. 
 

Matthew Weil pitched the eighth inning without allowing any runs, but he was saved by his leftfielder, Jed Cambre, who made a superman diving catch down the line to end the inning. Weil finished the game with two strikeouts in the ninth to earn his second save of the season. 
 

Pack Facts

• Thomas Hakimian pitched five shutout innings against the Eagles, striking out a season-high seven while allowing just three hits. It was his fourth win of the season.

• Matthew Weil closed out Friday's win, and he did the same on Saturday, picking up his third save of the season after striking out three with only one hit allowed over the final two innings. 

• Brandon Mooney had a hit and a run in each game to give him 64 runs this season. Mooney now has three of the top single season run totals in the Wolf Pack record book: 63 in 2023, 73 last season, and 64 this season. 

• Brady Bowen moved up to a tie for fifth in career strikeouts with 175 after five strikeouts in Game 1 Saturday. 

• Collin Zeringue's home run near the end of Game 1 was his fifth of the year, which is the third-most on the team this season.

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