Hotard named SSAC Pitcher of the Week

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 7 Loyola Wolf Pack baseball team is just two weeks into the 2026 season, and they already have two Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards after Monday's second edition of the weekly honor. Michael Hotard was picked as this week's SSAC Pitcher of the Week after a six-inning performance on Saturday. 
 

Jordan McKenzie was named the SSAC Player of the Week last week as well. 
 

Hotard got his second start of the season on Saturday against (RV) IU Southeast and earned the win with six strong innings of three-hit ball. He also struck out nine and allowed just one run in the Wolf Pack's 5-2 victory. The win was the first of two wins on Saturday, as Loyola completed the four-game sweep of the Grenadiers. 
 

The junior started his outing by striking out the side in the first inning before allowing just one base runner in the second. The Grenadiers were able to scratch one run across in the third, but that was all they could get on the left-handed pitcher. Hotard stranded a leadoff single in the fourth, sat down IUSE 1-2-3 in the fifth, and notched three more strikeouts in the sixth to finish his day. 
 

Loyola is 9-1 so far this season, and it'll hit the road for the first time this weekend for three neutral-site games. They'll first play Midland (Neb.) and Brescia (Ky.) on Friday before a matchup with Saint Francis (Ind.) concludes the weekend on Saturday.
 

Previous Winners (Player, Pitcher)

Week 1: Jordan McKenzie (Loyola), Ian Vickers (Thomas)
 

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