No. 12 Wolf Pack completes sweep of Brewton-Parker Saturday

WESTWEGO – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team is now 10-for-10 in weekend series this season, with the latest being a three-game sweep over Brewton-Parker. After earning the series-opening win on Friday, the 12th-ranked Wolf Pack took both games on Saturday against the Barons, 6-5 and 4-2. 
 

The Pack (29-9, 16-5 in SSAC) is back at Segnette Field on Tuesday when it takes on US Sports Academy at 5 p.m. in non-conference action. 
 

Game 1: #12 Loyola 6, Brewton-Parker 5

Ayden Authement played the role of the hero in the first game of the doubleheader, delivering a one-out walk-off single to left field that brought home Myles Liggans and ended the game. Loyola trailed for most of the contest, but it scored all six of its runs in the final three innings to earn the win. 
 

After the Barons scored lone runs in the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead, the Wolf Pack evened the score with two runs in the fifth. Landon Trosclair dropped a pitch over the left-field wall to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, then Jaxon Buratt walked and moved into scoring position on a double by Brandon Mooney. After an intentional walk for Garrett Felix, Landon Manson walked with the bases loaded to tie the game, 2-2. 
 

BPC regained the lead in the top of the sixth, 4-2, but a 3-run bottom half of the frame gave Loyola its first lead, 5-4. Walks for Anthony Fernandez and Collin Zeringue, followed by a hit by pitch for Buratt, loaded the bases with one out. A walk for Mooney made it a 4-3 game, and a double by Cole Romero flipped the lead in Loyola's favor, 5-4. 
 

A run in the top seventh for the visitors set up Authement's walk-off moment. 
 

A day after earning the save, Matthew Weil got the win after getting the last two outs in the top of the seventh. Thomas Hakimian started the game and put together another quality start by going five innings while allowing two runs - one earned - on five hits. Three of those hits were in the infield, too, and two of Loyola's four errors came with Hakimian on the mound. 
 

Despite committing four errors in the game, Loyola's defense threw out two base runners at the plate throughout the game. Hakimian started a 1-3-2 double play in the first, and Buratt threw out a runner in the third trying to score. 
 

Game 2: #12 Loyola 4, Brewton-Parker 2

Brewton-Parker struck first for the third straight game, taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Loyola, however, answered with a run in the fourth to tie it. After Felix led off with a double, then Liggans brought him home to nod the score with a single to left. 
 

The Wolf Pack took the lead in the fifth, 2-1, when Liggans was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. A two-run sixth created the separation Loyola needed, pushing its advantage to 4-1. Drew Lee and Ben Harris walked during consecutive at-bats to start the frame, and pinch runner Trosclair and Harris moved into scoring position with a double steal. The two runners came home when Mooney singled through the right side. 
 

That was all Loyola starter Cole Bordes needed, as the junior struck out nine while allowing just three hits in his seven innings of work. He faced just one over the minimum through the first two innings before allowing his only run in the third, and he only allowed one more base runner the rest of the way. In fact, Bordes and Carter Holstein combined to retire 10 straight from the fifth to the eighth inning, including Bordes striking out the side in the sixth. Frank Fernandez gave up a leadoff solo home run in the ninth, but he got two strikeouts and a flyout to complete the save. 
 

Pack Facts

• The Wolf Pack pitching staff turned in several solid performances last week, led by Cole Bordes striking out a career-high nine batters while allowing just three hits and no earned runs. 

• Felix, who has a nine game hitting streak, leads the team with a .445 batting average this season. 

• Matthew Weil picked up his second save of the season in Friday night's win, and he came in for the win in the first Game Saturday, totaling four strikeouts over 2.2 scoreless innings. 

• Frank Fernandez also tallied both a win and a save this week, being credited with the win on Tuesday against Dillard and closing out Game 3 Saturday, totaling five strikeouts with just one hit allowed in 3.1 innings this week. 

• Carter Holstein also only allowed one hit in 2.2 innings across two appearances against the Barons. 

• After going 3-for-3 in Friday night's game, Garrett Felix went 1-for-3 in Game 1 Saturday and 2-for-4 in Game 2 to total six hits for the series, with half of those hits being doubles. 

• Myles Liggans reached base in all four of his plate appearances Saturday, going 3-for-3 with a bases-loaded hit by pitch. 

• Three of Liggans' four times getting to base were in crucial moments. He scored the winning run after a seventh-inning single in Game 1, followed by an RBI single to tie the second game at 1-1 before his hit by pitch put the Pack up 2-1. 

• Landon Trosclair's solo homer in Game 1 Saturday was his 15th at Loyola. He's now tied for 10th on Loyola's all-time home runs list, and he's also sixth in career stolen bases with 60 after swiping three bags in the series against the Barons.