No. 13 Loyola readies for NAIA Opening Round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team is set to begin its fourth NAIA National Championship tournament in five years on Monday. The 13th-ranked and SSAC Champion Wolf Pack earned a No. 2 seed at Reinhardt University's Waleska, Georgia, Opening Round, and they'll first take on No. 3 seed and 25th-ranked Oakland City (Ind.) at 11 a.m. CDT to begin the week. 
 

The No. 5 Reinhardt Eagles are the top seed in the opening round, and they'll match up with fourth-seeded (RV) Ave Maria (Fla.) at 3 p.m. CDT on Monday. In a classic double-elimination four-team format, the losers of each opening-day game will play on Tuesday, followed by the winners. Each day will consist of an 11 a.m. CDT game and a 3 p.m. CDT game. The winner of the opening round will be one of the 10 teams to play in Lewiston, Idaho, at the NAIA World Series. 
 

The tournament will take place at Ken White Baseball Field on Reinhardt's campus in Waleska. 
 

Oakland City enters the matchup with a 39-13 overall record, finishing the season with a 20-3 mark in the River States Conference to win the regular-season title. The Mighty Oaks dominated their conference tournament, too, winning all three games with run-rule victories. They've won 15 of their last 17 games, and they've played seven games (4-3) against Top 25-ranked teams this season. In a common opponent comparison, the Mighty Oaks traveled to Tennessee Southern to open the season, defeating the Firehawks three out of four games. 
 

Reinhardt is 42-11 overall in 2025 after making the NAIA World Series last season. The Eagles won the Appalachian Athletic Conference with a 24-6 league record, but they fell to No. 3-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan in the championship game of the conference tournament. They won their first 14 games of the season before losing three straight to TWU in early March, and they were 4-8 in 12 games against Top 25-ranked teams. The Eagles played SSAC teams Brewton-Parker and Faulkner in five mid-week games throughout the season, going 4-1 in those contests against common opponents. 
 

While Ave Maria is just two games over .500 (27-25), its schedule was loaded with Top 25 matchups. The Gyrenes went 6-11 in 17 games against currently ranked teams, finishing the season with a 15-13 record in conference play and an 0-2 exit at the Sun Conference Championship. They ended the regular season with two wins over No. 7 Webber and three wins over No. 6 Southeastern. Ave Maria beat Point University three out of four and split a four-game series with St. Thomas in common opponent comparison. 
 

No. 13 Loyola is currently 38-15 overall and it finished the 2025 campaign with a 20-10 Southern States Athletic Conference record before winning the SSAC tournament for the first time in program history. The Pack won 12 of their 13 weekend series as well, and they were 18-5 against non-conference opponents. 
 

Garrett Felix leads the Wolf Pack with a .415 batting average, adding 64 runs, 42 RBI, 16 doubles and four home runs. Brandon Mooney (.377), Landon Manson (.358), Cole Romero (.353), Marcus Steen (.306), and Landon Trosclair (.306) give Loyola six players in the lineup with a batting average better than .300. Mooney, who broke the career runs school record last month, has a team-high 71 runs this season, and Romero leads the team with a school-record 68 RBI and home runs with 11.
 

Prescott Marsh, Cole Bordes, Thomas Hakimian and Brady Bowen all started on the mound at the SSAC Championship for the Wolf Pack. Marsh is 5-2 with a 5.60 ERA in 15 appearances and 10 starts, Bordes is 3-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 14 appearances and six starts, Hakimian is 6-1 with a 3.02 ERA in nine starts, and Bowen is 3-4 with a 6.43 ERA in 13 appearances and eight starts. Matthew Weil (3.95 ERA, 41 IP), Payton Cooper (4.60 ERA, 29.1 IP), Caden Durand (3.55 ERA, 25.1 IP), Frank Fernandez (2.18 ERA, 20.2 IP), Elvin Delic (5.19 ERA, 17.1 IP), and Carter Holstein (2.03 ERA, 13.1 IP) all provide depth in the bullpen. 
 

Opening Round Schedule

Monday, May 12
Game 1 | 11 a.m. CDT | #2 Loyola vs. #3 Oakland City
Game 2 | 3 p.m. CDT | #1 Reinhardt vs. #4 Ave Maria
 

Tuesday, May 13
Game 3 | 11 a.m. CDT | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 4 | 3 p.m. CDT | Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
 

Wednesday, May 14
Game 5 | 11 a.m. CDT  | Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4
Game 6 | 3 p.m. CDT | Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5
 

Thursday, May 15
Game 7 (if necessary) | 11 a.m. CDT | Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6
 

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