SHREVEPORT, La. – The 2026 season came to an end Tuesday night for the Loyola University New Orleans baseball team. After losing their NAIA Opening Round first-round matchup against Mid-America Christian on Monday, the Wolf Pack stayed alive in the afternoon with a 9-0 win over Huston-Tillotson. The Rams of Oklahoma Wesleyan, however, eliminated Loyola with an 8-2 decision in the nightcap. 
 

The Wolf Pack posted a 37-19 overall record this season, matching the 2024 team's total as the second-most wins in program history. 
 

Game 1: #3 Loyola 9, #5 Huston-Tillotson 0

Brady Bowen tossed a complete game, and the Wolf Pack offense surged late in the game to easily stave off elimination against the Rams. The senior right-hander struck out four throughout his outing, using 11 groundouts and nine flyouts to keep Huston-Tillotson's offense at bay. The Rams did get nine hits on Bowen, but they rarely had more than one hit in an inning, as they stranded eight baserunners. 
 

Offensively, Loyola got the bats going in the fifth inning, scoring runs in four of the final five frames. Jovan Swasey got a two-out rally going in the fifth with a double down the left-field line, then Ben Harris got the run home with a single to left, 1-0. Nathan McDonald and Ayden Authement had back-to-back at-bats with extra-base hits in the sixth, 2-0, as McDonald doubled to left-center and Authement got all the way to third after his long flyball bounced out of the center fielder's outstretched glove. He would eventually score on a bunt single by JJ Garcia, 3-0. 
 

After getting held off the board in the seventh, the Wolf Pack opened the game up with four runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth. With Jaxon Buratt at second and McDonald on first, Tanner Powell reached on a bunt single that got away from the first baseman to allow Buratt to sprint home, 4-0. Drew Lee drove in McDonald and Powell on a single through the left side, 6-0, and Swasey doubled home courtesy runner Jed Cambre after that, 7-0. Buratt and McDonald both scored again in the ninth off a Garcia single that fell in front of the Rams' left fielder, 9-0. 
 

Game 2: #4 Oklahoma Wesleyan 8, #3 Loyola 2 

OKWU started with two, two-run innings in the first and second to take a quick 4-0 lead. Caden Durand entered to pitch in the third inning and kept the Eagles off the board until they got one off him in the eighth, 5-0. He finished his 5.1-inning outing with a couple of strikeouts in an efficient 64 pitches. 
 

Loyola's offense had a couple of early chances, but the Oklahoma Wesleyan starter retired 16 straight batters in the second through seventh innings to keep the Wolf Pack off the board. Jordan McKenzie walked to start the eighth, then Drew Lee sent one over the left-field wall to make it a 5-2 ballgame. 
 

The Eagles added three more to their total in the top of the ninth to bring the game to its final, 8-2. 
 

Pack Facts

• For the first time in his collegiate career, Brady Bowen went the full nine innings, throwing 118 pitches with four strikeouts in the shutout win over Huston-Tillotson. 

• This was Bowen's seventh win of the season, which is tied for the ninth-most in a season by any pitcher in Wolf Pack history. He also finishes his career in seventh on Loyola's all-time wins list with 18. 

• The late run assigned to Frank Fernandez was unearned, meaning he's the first Wolf Pack pitcher to finish a season with a sub-1.00 ERA. His 0.92 ERA at the end of the season is a new school record. 

• Caden Durand kept the Wolf Pack alive in Game 2, going for his longest career outing of 5.1 innings while giving up just one run with a pair of strikeouts. 

• Drew Lee's home run against OKWU was his second of the year and third at Loyola. 

• After going 2-for-4 in the first game, Jaxon Buratt finishes his junior season in the top 10 in the Wolf Pack record book in several categories: career hits (10th), career runs (4th), career triples (5th), career RBI (7th), and career stolen bases (t-7th).

NAIA Opening Round: Shreveport Bracket

Monday, May 11
Game 1 | #4 Oklahoma Wesleyan def. #5 Huston-Tillotson, 8-0
Game 2 | #2 Mid-American Christian def. #3 Loyola, 3-2
Game 3 | #1 LSUS def. #4 Oklahoma Wesleyan, 5-4
 

Tuesday, May 12
Game 4 | #3 Loyola def. #5 Huston-Tillotson, 9-0, Huston-Tillotson eliminated
Game 5 | #2 Mid-American Christian def. #1 LSUS, 8-2
Game 6 | #4 Oklahoma Wesleyan def. #3 Loyola, 8-2, Loyola eliminated
 

Wednesday, May 13
Game 7 | 11:00 AM | #4 Oklahoma Wesleyan vs. #1 LSUS
Game 8 | 2:30 PM | #2 Mid-American Christian vs. Winner of Game 7
 

Thursday, May 14
Game 9 (If Necessary) | 11:00 AM | Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 8