No. 7 Baseball sweeps Tuesday doubleheader over Dillard

WESTWEGO – The Loyola University New Orleans baseball team kept things rolling on Tuesday against Dillard. The Wolf Pack swept the doubleheader, 12-1 and 7-3, to move their early-season record to 5-1. The 7th-ranked Wolf Pack welcomes (RV) Indiana University Southeast for a four-game set this weekend. The two teams will play a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. on Friday, then close the series with two more games on Saturday starting at 12 p.m.
 

Game 1: #7 Loyola 12, Dillard 1 (7)

The first five batters of Loyola's order scored in the bottom of the first. JJ Garcia and Nathan McDonald both had infield singles to start things, then Jordan McKenzie got the Pack on the board, 1-0, with a single through the left side. Jovan Swasey doubled home another run, and a ground out by Ayden Authement made it a 3-0 lead. Finally, a double by Drew Lee brought home Swasey and Jed Cambre, who walked earlier in the inning, 5-0. 
 

Those same five guys at the top of the order scored again in the second inning to make it a 10-0 lead. McDonald picked up the first RBI on a single through the left side, then a two-RBI single by Swasey put the Pack up 8-0. A single up the middle off the bat of Cambre brought home Loyola's ninth run, and Reed Duthu's sacrifice fly capped off another five-run inning. 
 

Freshman James Guidry got his first collegiate start on the bump for the Wolf Pack and earned the win in four scoreless innings. He struck out four, allowed just two hits throughout his outing, and picked off a runner at second base. Xavier Domenech received the save after pitching the final three innings. He gave up one run on one hit with a strikeout during his time on the mound. 
 

Lee and Ben Harris picked up RBI in the sixth inning to extend the score to 12-0 before the Bleu Devils scored one in the seventh to bring the game to its final. 
 

Game 2: #7 Loyola 7, Dillard 3 (7)

After the Pack spotted Dillard one run in the top of the third and another in the fourth, the Wolf Pack finally got on the board with five runs in the fourth to take a 5-2 advantage. Cambre legged out a hustle double to start the rally, and after advancing to third, he scored on an infield single by Harris. John Lewis' first hit in a Loyola uniform came at a good time, as he doubled to left-center during the next at-bat to bring home Harris to even the score, 2-2. After Myles Liggans walked, the two base runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, then Garcia singled up the middle to score the two runs, 4-2. The last run scored after a couple of errors by Dillard moved Garcia around the bases, 5-2. 
 

The Bleu Devils scored another run in the top of the fifth, 5-3, but Loyola pushed two insurance runs across in the sixth. Kash Kootz, who was Lee's courtesy runner, eventually came home when Swasey singled to left field, 6-3, and pinch runner Ayden Authement scored on a bases-loaded balk, 7-3. 
 

Carter Holstein got the win after two relief innings. He entered the game trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning and proceeded to strike out five while allowing one run on one hit. His outing provided the Wolf Pack offense enough time to bounce back to take the lead. Frank Fernandez pitched a 12-pitch sixth inning to preserve the lead, and Hunter Ponson closed the door in the seventh to seal the win.
 

Pack Facts

• The first four batters in the Wolf Pack batting order (JJ Garcia, Nathan McDonald, Jordan McKenzie, and Jovan Swasey) each succeeded in recording hits in each of their first two at-bats of the doubleheader. They accounted for eight of Loyola's 11 hits in Game 1. 

• Swasey also led the team with four RBI between the two games, 

• Jed Cambre reached base in all three plate appearances in Game 1, had a hit in each game, and scored a total of three runs, which tied Garcia for a team high in the doubleheader. 

• Carter Holstein pitched a new collegiate career high with five strikeouts in his Game 2 win. It was also his first time being credited with a win since the 2023 season.

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