JACKSON, Tenn. – Behind strong pitching and timely hitting, the sixth-seeded Loyola Wolf Pack baseball team started the SSAC Championship with a 5-4 win over No. 3-seed Thomas University late Wednesday night. 
 

Loyola (1-0 in pool play) will play the late game again on Thursday, taking on No. 7-seed UT Southern (0-1) no earlier than 7 p.m. at Rockabillys Stadium in Jackson, Tennessee. No. 2 William Carey (1-0) and Thomas (0-1) will play in the other Pool B matchup. 
 

Michael Hotard got the start on the mound and pitched six-plus innings while giving up three runs - two earned - on six hits with four strikeouts. After retiring the Night Hawks in order with a couple of strikeouts in the first, he left the bases loaded with no damage in the second by getting an inning-ending double play. He pitched two straight 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth before Thomas tied the game, 2-2, in the fifth with a two-run home run. He left another runner stranded in scoring position in the sixth inning before being lifted in the seventh, where he was charged with an unearned run. 
 

While Hotard was dealing on the bump, Loyola scored runs in three straight innings, starting in the fourth. Jaxon Buratt led off the fourth with a double to right-center and later scored off a single by Ayden Authement, 1-0. In the fifth, the Pack got a two-out rally when Tanner Powell was hit by a pitch, followed by back-to-back singles from Ben Harris and JJ Garcia, 2-0. After Thomas tied it in the bottom of the fifth, Nathan McDonald quickly put Loyola back in front with a solo home run in the top of the sixth, 3-2. Another two-out rally formed after that, as Reed Duthu walked and stole second. Drew Lee made it a 4-2 lead when he singled to left field. 
 

Leading 4-3, the Wolf Pack got a much-needed insurance run in the eighth, and it started with back-to-back walks for Authement and Hunter Ponson. With runners on the corners, pinch-runner Jed Cambre scored, 5-3, on a Duthu groundout to second. 
 

Frank Fernandez finished off the seventh inning on the mound and pitched the eighth in his setup role. He had a couple of strikeouts and worked around a couple of hits during his outing. Jake Cohen earned another save, but he did find himself in trouble after giving up a run. Thomas had the tying run at third and the winning run at first with one out, but a flyout and a groundout ended the game.
 

Pack Facts

• Jake Cohen closed out the win on Wednesday to earn another save, his 12th of the year. 

• After setting Loyola's single-season saves record earlier this year, Cohen is now tied with Connor Thurman (2013-15) and Kevin Fontenot (2006-10) for first in career saves in the Wolf Pack record book. 

• Nathan McDonald's sixth-inning home run to put the Pack ahead 3-2 was his 12th of the year. That's the third-most homers in a season by any player in Wolf Pack history. 

• McDonald is also the first Wolf Pack player to reach 60 hits this year. 

• Jaxon Buratt's double in the fourth inning was his team-high 10th double of the season. 

• Jed Cambre's run in the eighth inning, which extended the Wolf Pack's lead to 5-3, was his team-high 50th run scored this season. 

• Michael Hotard improved to 6-2 this season with his win over Thomas. He leads the Wolf Pack in wins this season. 
   

SSAC Championship Schedule

Pool A: 
#1 Abraham Baldwin (1-0)
#4 Mobile (0-1)
#5 Faulkner (1-0)
#8 Brewton-Parker Christian (0-1)
 

Pool B: 
#2 William Carey (1-0)
#3 Thomas (0-1)
#6 Loyola (1-0)
#7 UT Southern (0-1)
 

Wednesday, April 29
Game 1 | #5 Faulkner def. #4 Mobile, 8-4
Game 2 | #1 Abraham Baldwin def. #8 Brewton-Parker, 15-4 (7)
Game 3 | vs. #2 William Carey def. #7 UT Southern, 15-1 (7)
Game 4 | #6 Loyola def. #3 Thomas, 5-4
 

Thursday, April 30
Game 5 | 10:00 AM | #5 Faulkner vs. #8 Brewton-Parker
Game 6 | 1:00 PM | #4 Mobile vs. #1 Abraham Baldwin 
Game 7 | 4:00 PM | #3 Thomas vs.  #2 William Carey
Game 8 | 7:00 PM | #6 Loyola vs. #7 UT Southern
 

Friday, May 1
Game 9 | 10:00 AM | #8 Brewton-Parker vs. #4 Mobile
Game 10 | 1:00 PM | #1 Abraham Baldwin vs. #5 Faulkner
Game 11 | 4:00 PM | #2 William Carey vs. #6 Loyola
Game 12 | 7:00 PM | #7 UT Southern vs. #3 Thomas
 

Saturday, May 2
Championship Game | 1:00 PM | Pool A Champ v. Pool B Champ
 

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