By Chad Bower
Staff writer
Loyola’s baseball team can’t seem to buy a win lately, after falling to the Nicholls State Colonels 12-6 on Tuesday night. Loyola dropped to 13-19 overall and have gone 2-8 over its last ten games.
Mathematics freshman Andrew Laiche (1-2) received the loss after pitching one inning. He gave up three earned runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out two batters.
Nicholls State jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first two runs of the game in the top of the second. Loyola responded in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff home run by management sophomore Todd Hubbell, his first of the season. The ‘Pack then proceeded to load the bases on two walks and a hit batsman. History junior Trey Fury’s RBI groundout to second base tied it at 2.Loyola had trouble with fundamentals in the third as Nicholls responded with three runs. Colonel Michael Bartek, who reached on an infield single, scored after Thomas Bourne’s double to right centerfield. Bourne then scored following a suspect throw to second base by marketing junior Jerry Campos. Loyola’s defensive woes continued when Michael Roberts stole home, giving the Colonels a 5-2 lead.
Nicholls padded its lead with runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings. Colonel Jose Higuera, who had led off the fifth with a triple, scored after a Pat Harris groundout, digging Loyola’s hole to 6-2. In the sixth Nicholls pulled further away, scoring three runs to make it 9-2.Physics freshman Kevin Fontenot’s two-run homer in the seventh, which cut the Nicholls lead to 9-4, gave Loyola a much-needed boost. The revived ‘Pack then loaded the bases and scored once before the Colonels ended the threat on a groundout by Bobby Alvarez, communications sophomore.
Loyola’s bats looked good again in the eighth, snagging a run and putting men on first and second with only one out. Nicholls, however, wouldn’t allow a comeback: Loyola fell short of another big inning after management senior David Lauricella grounded into a double play.
Loyola has a chance to regroup tonight against Belhaven at Segnette Field. First pitch is at 6:30 PM.
Chad Bower can be reached at [email protected].
