No. 18 Loyola sweeps Friday’s doubleheader

NEW ORLEANS – The 18th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack earned a series win on Friday, defeating the Brewton-Parker Christian Barons twice, 6-4 and 12-9. The Wolf Pack (25-10, 9-5 in SSAC) and Barons (11-23, 3-11) will meet back up at 12 p.m. CDT on Saturday for the series finale. 
 

Game 1: #18 Loyola 6, Brewton-Parker 4

The Pack pushed the first two runs across in the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Jed Cambre manufactured the first run after leading off the game with a single and moving to third on two wild pitches. He eventually scored on a passed ball. In the third inning, Jaxon Buratt hit a solo home run to put Loyola ahead by two. 
 

The Barons answered in the bottom of the third, though. They had a four-run inning thanks to five hits and an error to take a 4-2 advantage. Loyola responded with two runs in the top of the fourth to even the score, 4-4. With two outs, Drew Lee, John Lewis, and JJ Garcia all drew walks to load the bases, then Cambre delivered with a two-RBI single. 
 

A defensive miscue by BPC led to Loyola regaining the lead in the fifth, as Reed Duthu started the frame by reaching base on an error by the shortstop. He moved to third on a groundout and a flyout, and scored on a wild pitch, 5-4. 
 

Brady Bowen earned the win by pitching five strong innings with only one hiccup inning. Five of the seven hits he allowed came in that third inning, as he held the Baron's offense in check in the other four innings. He also struck out four. Frank Fernandez was perfect in his setup role in the sixth inning, sitting down the only three batters he faced. Jake Cohen made it 7-for-7 in save situations this season with a relatively easy seventh inning. 
 

Game 2: #18 Loyola 12, Brewton-Parker 9

The Wolf Pack struck first in the first inning of Game 2 as well, as a Cambre single got things going again. He reached third on a walk for Nathan McDonald and an error by the BPC catcher, then scored when Duthu grounded out, 1-0. Loyola added two more runs in the fourth thanks to a two-run home run by Lewis, 3-0. Lee walked with one out to set up Lewis' second homer of the season. 
 

Brewton-Parker plated two runs in the bottom half of the frame to cut it to one, 3-2, but Loyola added a run in the top of the fifth after two doubles by Buratt and Duthu, 4-2. 
 

A five-run sixth for Loyola opened the game up for the time being, 9-2. Lewis started the inning with a single to left, then Myles Liggans and Buratt both walked to load the bases. A bases-loaded walk for McDonald and back-to-back singles for Duthu and Jovan Swasey scored the first four runs of the inning, 8-2, then a sacrifice fly by Garcia gave Loyola a seven-run lead. BPC got back in the game with a three-run bottom half, 9-5, and it scored again in the seventh to cut the deficit to three, 9-6.  
 

After Loyola scored in the top of the eighth, the Barons tried to mount a comeback with a three-run bottom half, 10-9, but Loyola added two more in the top of the nine for good measure. Swasey earned his second home run of the week in the eighth inning, 10-6, before BPC's big inning, then a two-RBI single by Cambre brought the game to its final, 12-9. 
 

James Guidry got the win with his five-inning start and three strikeouts. That set up Cohen's historic night in the ninth. 
 

Pack Facts

• Jake Cohen closed both games on Friday, allowing no runs from Brewton-Parker to record saves in each game. Cohen now has eight saves this season and has set a new Loyola baseball record for most saves in a single season. 

• Brady Bowen picked up his fourth pitching win of the season, and 15th of his college career, in Loyola's 6-4 victory in Game 1. Bowen is now tied with Thomas Hakimian, Brenden Taravella, and Joseph Kuchler for eighth on Loyola's career wins list. 

• James Guidry earned his third win of the season in his Game 2 start. Loyola now has five different pitchers with three or more wins this season: Bowen, Guidry, Michael Hotard, Thomas Hakimian, and Frank Fernandez. 

• Jovan Swasey hit a solo home run in each game, bringing him to a total of four this season. He's homered in all three of the Wolf Pack's games this week. 

• The long ball featured in both games for the Wolf Pack on Friday. In addition to Swasey's two, Jaxon Buratt had a solo shot in Game 1, and John Lewis had a two-run blast in Game 2. 

• After just six combined hits in Game 1 Friday, Loyola posted 14 hits as a team in Game 2, which was tied for the Pack's third-most hits in a game this season. 

• Jed Cambre, Buratt, Reed Duthu, Swassey, Drew Lee, Lewis, and Myles Liggans all contributed two hits in the Game 2 win. Cambre also had two hits in Game 1.

• Five of the Game 2 hits were for extra bases. In addition to Swasey and Lewis' home runs, Buratt, Duthu, and Liggans also hit doubles.