No. 13 Baseball wins SSAC Championship opener Wednesday

JACKSON, Tenn. – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team opened the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship with a 9-4 win over Mobile on Wednesday. The Pack will next play at 10 a.m. on Thursday against the loser of No. 3 Abraham Baldwin and No. 6 Thomas. Loyola will finish pool play at 10 a.m. on Friday against the other team from that matchup. 
 

Loyola got things started quickly with a two-run first inning. After Loyola starting pitcher, Prescott Marsh, stranded a couple of base runners in the top half of the frame, the Wolf Pack offense made sure they didn't have the same result. Cole Romero and Landson Manson each had two-out base hits, then Marcus Steen loaded the bases with a walk. Myles Liggans battled after being down 0-2 in the count to notch a single to plate two runs, 2-0. 
 

Marsh put zeros on the board in his first four innings. The sophomore worked 1-2-3 innings in the second and fourth, while stranding two each in the first and third. The Rams scratched their first across in the fifth, 2-1, but Elvin Delic entered to pitch and got a line out to Brandon Mooney, who then doubled up the runner at first to end the threat. 
 

The Rams got a two-run homer in the next inning to take their first lead of the game, 3-2, then they added another run to take a 4-2 lead before the Wolf Pack could bat in the sixth. 
 

Loyola pushed back ahead in the next half inning, though, scoring four runs to jump back out in front, 6-4. Marcus Steen and Liggans singled and walked during back-to-back at-bats to start the inning, and a bunt single by Drew Lee loaded the bases. Pinch-hitting Garrett Beadle scored the first run with a sacrifice fly, 4-3, and a fielder's choice with Mooney at the plate caused enough chaos to score two runs and give Loyola the 5-4 lead. The Rams' defense tried to turn a double play, but after Mooney was called safe at first and the first run scored, Landon Trosclair raced home while Mobile wasn't paying attention. Finally, a Garrett Felix single scored the inning's final run. 
 

The Wolf Pack extended their advantage with another crooked number in the eighth. Mooney doubled to start the inning, and Felix walked to quickly put two runners on base with no outs. Manson doubled two at-bats later to plate one run, 7-4, then Liggans brought home two more on a single two batters later, 9-4.
 

Frank Fernandez pitched the final three innings to receive the save. He retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing a one-out hit in the ninth. He quickly got two more outs to end the game. 
 

Pack Facts

• The first seven batters in order (Brandon Mooney, Garrett Felix, Cole Romero, Landon Manson, Marcus Steen, Myles Liggans, Drew Lee) accounted for the team's 15 hits, with all seven batters recording multiple hits.

• The team was led in both hits and RBI by Myles Liggans, who went 3-for-4 at the plate with 4 RBI and a stolen base. It was his most hits in a game this season.

• Mooney, Manson, Liggans, and Lee all had doubles Wednesday. 

• Mooney now has 74 hits this season, which puts him in the top 10 for most hits in a season in program history. Mooney owns the single-season record for hits (81), set in the 2023 season. 

• Not far behind Mooney on the hits list, Felix became the second Wolf Pack player to reach 70 hits this season. He also now has scored 61 runs after one in Wednesday's game and is tied for sixth in the program record book in that category. 

• Matthew Weil is now 5-0 this season after getting the win against Mobile. His record moves to 11-5 in his collegiate career. 

• Frank Fernandez pitched his third save of the year, tied for the second-most saves on the team this season, after keeping the Rams scoreless over the final three frames. 
   

SSAC Championship Schedule

Pool A: #1 William Carey, #4 Middle Georgia, #5 Blue Mountain, #8 UT Southern
Pool B: #2 Loyola, #3 ABAC, #6 Thomas, #7 Mobile
*Regular season champion decides if Pool A plays the first two or last two time slots. No. 1 and 2 seeds pick their game times within those slots (10 or 1 and 4 or 7). 1-0 teams will play 0-1 teams on day 2. 
 

Wednesday, April 30 
Game 1 | #2 Loyola def. #7 Mobile, 9-4
Game 2 | #3 ABAC def. #6 Thomas, 9-7
Game 3 | 4:00 p.m. | #1 William Carey def. #8 UT Southern, 15-5
Game 4 | #4 Middle Georgia def. #5 Blue Mountain, 9-2
 

Thursday, May 1* (1-0 teams will play 0-1 teams on this date)
Game 5 | 10:00 a.m. | #2 Loyola (1-0) vs. #6 Thomas (0-1)
Game 6 | 1:00 p.m. | #7 Mobile (0-1) vs. #2 ABAC (1-0)
Game 7 | 4:00 p.m. | #1 William Carey (1-0) vs. #5 Blue Mountain (0-1)
Game 8 | 7:00 p.m. | #8 UT Southern (0-1) vs. #4 Middle Georgia (1-0)
 

Friday, May 2
Game 9 | 10:00 a.m. | #3 ABAC vs. #2 Loyola
Game 10 | 1:00 p.m. | #6 Thomas vs. #7 Mobile
Game 11 | 4:00 p.m. | #4 Middle Georgia vs. #1 William Carey
Game 12 | 7:00 p.m. | #5 Blue Mountain vs. #8 UT Southern
 

Saturday, May 3
Championship | 1:00 p.m. | Pool A Champ v. Pool B Champ
 

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