No. 7 Loyola splits two games Friday

PINEVILLE, La. – The No. 7-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack baseball team played neutral-site games in Pineville, Louisiana, on Friday, splitting the games between Midland (Neb.) and Brescia (Ky.). The Wolf Pack (10-2) started the day with a 3-2 loss to Midland before defeating Brescia 10-9 in a come-from-behind effort. 
 

Loyola will play Saint Francis (Ind.) at 9 a.m. on Saturday to finish the weekend. 
 

Game 1: Midland (Neb.) 3, #7 Loyola 2 (7)

Midland struck first with a run in the second inning and two more in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Loyola finally pushed a run across in the fourth inning, and it started with a two-out single by Jed Cambre. Ayden Authement kept things going with another single, then Reed Duthu recorded three straight singles to cut into the lead, 3-1. Jaxon Buratt led off the fifth inning with a single, and after moving into scoring position from a sacrifice bunt by JJ Garcia, Buratt stole third and scored on an error, 3-2. 
 

The Wolf Pack went down 1-2-3 in the sixth and stranded the two base runners in the seventh to end the game. 
 

Ryder Loup pitched 1.2 relief innings, giving up one earned run on one hit. Cole Bordes held Midland off the board in the final two innings with three strikeouts and no hits given up. 
 

Game 2: #7 Loyola 10, Brescia 9 (7)

The Bearcats scored all nine of their runs in the first three innings, pushing out to a 9-4 lead. Jovan Swasey had a two-run home run in the first inning to cut Brescia's lead to 5-2 after the opening frame, then Myles Liggans and Garcia had RBI in the second to make it a 7-4 deficit. 
 

Loyola trailed 9-4 entering the bottom half of the fourth, but the Pack scored four runs to trim the Bearcats' lead to one. A Garcia infield single scored Authement to start things, 9-5, and pinch-runner Kash Koontz came home, 9-6, on a wild pitch. Jaxon Buratt brought home another run on a sacrifice fly, 9-7, and finally, a Jordan McKenzie single got the Wolf Pack right back into the game, 9-8. 
 

After being held scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, Loyola needed at least one more run to force the game into extras. Swasey singled with one out, then pinch-runner Koontz got to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch. A bunt play by Cambre got the tying run home, and Cambre scored the game-winner after back-to-back singles by Authement and Reed Duthu. 
 

Frank Fernandez got the win after two innings of shutout ball. He allowed two hits and a walk, but stranded all three runners. 
 

Pack Facts

• Jeremy Kennedy captured 600 career wins after Loyola defeated Brescia Friday evening. 209 of those wins have come as the Wolf Pack's skipper. 

• Friday's win over Brescia marked the third time in the last five games that the Wolf Pack rallied from a deficit of at least one run in the final three innings.

• Frank Fernandez earned his fifth career pitching win on Friday after shutting out the Bearcats over the final two innings. 

• Jovan Swasey collected four hits in the doubleheader. Three of those were against Brescia, including a two-run homer in the first inning which began the comeback. His seventh-inning single in that game led to Kash Koontz getting on base and eventually scoring to tie the game. 

• Koontz scored a game-high three runs in Friday's Game 2. He's second on the team with 13 runs scored this season. 

• Ayden Authement went 3-for-4 with two runs against Brescia, totaling four hits in the doubleheader. 

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