BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Blue Mountain welcomed Loyola to town Friday in the opener of their three-game SSAC series, and the Wolf Pack would take it 8-4.
A four-run first inning would be the catalyst for the Loyola victory, as the Wolf Pack would get to BMCU starter Shaine O'Keefe.
An RBI from Adrian Fernandez, a bases-loaded walk and a pair of sac-flies would be enough for four runs in the opening frame.
The Wolf Pack scored two more in the third against BMCU reliever Cole Giordano on an infield single and a score on a groundout.
Blue Mountain would fire back in the bottom of the third with four runs of its own, highlighted by a three-run double by Chris Smith and an RBI double from Hayden Arant against Loyola's Brady Bowen.
That would be all the runs the Toppers could muster against Bowen and reliever Payton Cooper.
Bowen would grab the victory with six innings pitched with four runs on eight hits with five Ks.  Cooper would secure the save for Loyola.
Loyola would get a couple more runs in the fifth and the eighth to stave off the Toppers.
O'Keefe (1-1) suffered the loss, not recording an official inning, giving up four earned runs on two hits.
Hunter Pierson and Rey Castaneda would also come on in relief for Blue Mountain, with Pierson throwing four innings of one-run ball on six hits, while Castaneda threw a perfect inning in the ninth with three Ks.
Arant, Hayden Redding and Austin Garrison would all have two hits apiece in the loss for BMCU.
The two teams will square off Saturday at Topper field in a doubleheader at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. CT to decide the series.
 
 
 
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