The Loyola baseball season has been a roller coaster ride of peaks and valleys so far. The mercurial Wolfpack lost its first four games, gathered its wits and won six of the next seven but then experienced a complete reversal of fortune over the past two weeks, losing six of seven.
“We need to make adjustments at the plate and take advantage of the strong starting pitching we’ve been getting,” Coach Doc Beeman said.
Two weeks ago, Loyola went into a series against a 13-1 Mobile team in which the Rams won all three games by a single run.
The first game, a 10-9 Mobile victory, saw the Rams race out to a 6-0 lead after three innings. Loyola rallied to take an 8-7 lead in the seventh inning and in the next inning, with Mobile again in the lead 10-8, physics senior Greg Veltri scored on a wild pitch with two outs. But Mobile’s Chris Copeland clenched the save by striking out the final batter in the eighth, and retiring all three batters in the ninth.
Communications senior Kevin Kalina was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Veltri, management senior David Sudyka and management junior David Lauricella each had two hits. Loyola reliever Matt Franatovich (0-1) took the loss, surrendering three runs on five hits in four innings of work.
The results of the next day’s doubleheader were 6-5 and 1-0.
Pitcher Bobby Alvarez (0-1), communications freshman, took the first loss after giving up two runs on four hits in 1.2 innings.
The second game was a pitching duel between Mobile’s starter Simon Badeaux, who allowed only one hit, and Loyola’s Brian McCaulley, mathematics senior. McCauley gave up the game’s deciding run by balking home Mobile’s Ron McMillian. In six innings, McCaulley gave up five hits and the one run.
Loyola’s bats were silenced again last Friday night in a 4-0 shutout loss to Belhaven.
The Blazers scored four runs on seven hits off criminal justice senior Jeff Pippenger (1-1.) Loyola only managed two hits on the night.
Loyola took a 2-0 lead in the first game of last Saturday’s Belhaven doubleheader, but the Blazers again turned Loyola back, scoring six runs in the final three innings and won 6-2. It sent the ‘Pack to its sixth straight loss.
Communications sophomore James Blakeman (1-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in five innings. He also walked five batters. Sudyka led the way on offense for Loyola, going 2-for-3.
Loyola snapped its losing streak in the second game of the day with a 10-1 victory. Loyola blew the game open in the sixth inning, as Veltri’s double brought Kalina and general studies junior Trey Fury home to make the score 6-1. Management senior Brad Rodrigue then singled Veltri home followed by a Sudyka RBI single. Loyola scored two more runs before the inning was through, leading to the nine run final difference.
“We shook up the lineup on Saturday and had some positive results,” Beeman said of his team’s offensive success. “Eighteen hits in the two games were nice to get although we would like to have swept rather than split.”
McCaulley (3-1) came in during the game’s third inning and had five innings of work, giving up one run on five hits. He struck out four. Communications senior David Musch started the game and went two innings, giving up no runs and no hits.
Loyola will host Gulf Coast Athletic Conference rival Spring Hill tonight at 6 p.m. On Saturday the teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Ryan Arena can be reached at [email protected].
