The Loyola men’s baseball team ended a rough losing streak Sunday with a bit of flair, giving the team its second conference win and some much-needed confidence. Their 9-8 win against LSU-Shreveport avoided a three-game sweep and allowed Loyola to improve to 7-14 overall and 2-4 in the GCAC.
The Wolfpack had been on a five-game losing streak and had won only two of its past 10 games, often failing to score and to prevent runs when it mattered most. Two of those five loses came on Saturday, when the team was swept in a doubleheader by LSU-S.
Loyola was shut out in the first game, losing 3-0, but general studies sophomore Stephen Ratasky pitched a gem, completing the game in seven innings while giving up only two earned runs and striking out two batters. The ‘Pack managed to eke out a run in the second game, but still ended up losing 12-1.
“There’s no way to explain why we score nine runs one game and struggle in others,” said mass communications senior Andy Rodriguez when asked about the team’s inconsistency with scoring runs.
So when Loyola erupted with five runs in the fifth inning on Sunday, making it 6-3, the team knew it had to take advantage. But in the very next inning the Pilots responded with three runs of their own, tying the game 6-6, and added two more in the seventh. Now down 8-6, it was time for the Loyola bats to step up.
“We fell behind early, but we kept hitting balls hard right at them,” said shortstop Rodriguez, who went 4-for-12 in the series. “We knew we were going to get into them eventually. We were well into their bullpen.”
That confidence resulted in runs after Rodriguez scored in the bottom of the seventh. Mass communications junior Bobby Alvarez knocked him in, getting him his first RBI of the day. He’d add his second in the bottom of the ninth, an inning after finance junior Mark Jaynes tied it at 8-8 with a solo home run by knocking in the winning run to make it 9-8.
“We challenged them the entire game,” said Loyola head coach Doc Beeman. “We knew the last team to score was going to win that game,”
International business sophomore Matt Wendt (1-1) got the victory in relief by throwing a scoreless top of the ninth. Starter Kevin Fontenot, a mathematics freshman, lasted four innings and gave up only two runs. He struck out four.
“We didn’t show up for the second game of the double header yesterday. The team answered the coaching staff’s challenge to play a full game from the first pitch to the last. We will compete in this league if we continue to give the effort and get the performances we had today,” Beeman said.
The team needs to make sure it does so, and soon. After the upcoming away series this weekend against Spring Hill, the team will have its final home stand in March. The team won’t return to Segnette field until April 13, and considering the team’s 1-7 away record, they’ll need to steal a few at home.
“If we can get the ball rolling this weekend, it’ll carry on into the next weekend and the following weekend,” said Rodriguez. “These games coming up are huge, just huge.”
Loyola looks to continue winning tonight at Spring Hill. It’s the first game of a three game road trip against the Badgers. You can catch the ‘Pack at Segnette field early next week, when they face Blackburn College on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Chad Bower can be reached at [email protected].
