Blue Mountain Christian fell to No. 14 Loyola 6-3 in the final game of their SSAC baseball series Saturday in Blue Mountain, Mississippi.
Loyola won the first two games of the series by scores of 15-4 and 19-10, respectively, to secure the sweep. The Wolf Pack took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run home run by Nathan McDonald. They added another run in the second on an RBI single from Jed Cambre, making it 3-0.
The Toppers responded in the second inning when Garret Lance drove in Cody Presley with an RBI single. Blue Mountain Christian narrowed the deficit to 3-2 in the third after Jacob Bryant doubled to score Jake Meilstrup. The Toppers tied the game in the fourth when Reise Thomas singled to left field to bring home Jarrett Morris.
The game remained tied until the eighth inning when Loyola took control. Cambre hit a two-run triple, giving the Wolf Pack a 5-3 lead, and an unearned run later in the inning pushed the margin to 6-3, which stood as the final score.
Blue Mountain Christian finished with nine hits. Bryant led the team, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Presley also had two hits and scored a run. Gavin Foley added two hits. Lance and Thomas each drove in a run, while Meilstrup, Presley, and Morris contributed the team’s three runs. On the mound, Benji Webb took the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits over 7.2 innings with three strikeouts and six walks. Christian Maness pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with one strikeout.
