For better or worse, it’s been all about streaks for the Loyola baseball team.
They opened the season with a 0-7 record, losing all of their games to LSU-Shreveport, the University of Mobile and Thomas University.
Then they went on a six-game win streak against Tougaloo and Spring Hill Colleges. Then, they dropped the next five games to William Carey University and LSU-Alexandria.
After dropping three of four to Belhaven, their record stands at 7-13, with only one series – against Belhaven – that they have not either swept or been swept.
Head coach Gerald Cassard said that while the cold weather and the team adjusting to new players factored into their early season troubles, the defense has dragged the team down.
“We just didn’t take care of the baseball very well,” Cassard said. “We always seemed to make that error in the wrong time of the ballgame. We just couldn’t seem to overcome it.”
Through that opening seven-game losing streak, the team had 19 errors. At that point, they were the worst team in the conference in terms of fielding percentage.
That only makes things harder for the pitcher, according to mass communication senior Matt Manco.
“The gloves are just like the bats: you get hot streaks and you get cold streaks,” Manco said. “That just trickles down to everything. The pitcher can’t really get into a groove because he’s afraid to throw into contact, and it puts pressure on the hitters.”
The team seemed to have overcome those difficulties against Tougaloo and Spring Hill, outscoring them 62-16 and committing only 12 errors over the six-game span.
General business major Andrew Laiche pitched especially well, earning Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 17. Against Spring Hill, he lasted 7.1 innings, only giving up one run while striking out seven.
Against William Carey and LSU-Alexandria, the team again slipped, losing five straight games against them before splitting a Sunday doubleheader on March 2 to LSU-Alexandria.
Segnette Field, where Loyola plays its home games, has been kind to the Wolfpack.
There, the team has gone 6-5, while going 1-8 on the road. Those road games have been as far away as Thomasville, Ga., the farthest the team will travel this season.
Besides having to travel often and far, the schedule has also put the ‘Pack against some of the top teams in the conference.
The four teams that swept Loyola combine for a 50-10 record. Those that Loyola has swept have just a 7-33 record.
That does not mean that Loyola can’t hang with the top-tier teams, management junior Josh Borges said.
“I’ve never found anyone in this conference that is flat out better than us,” Borges said.
“If we show up to the field and play, we can hang with anybody.”
Chad Bower can be reached at [email protected].
