Baseball Falls in Three Games Versus No. 5-ranked Shreveport

SHREVEPORT, LA. (March 10, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) baseball team lost three games against No. 5-ranked LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) this weekend on the road. The Saints move to 14-12 overall and 6-6 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Pilots improve to 19-2 overall and 11-1 in the RRAC.

Head Coach Matt Piker said, "This was a tough way to lose in all three games. The pitching staff did a great job by giving us an opportunity in all three games. Coach Ryan Chapa did a great job making the scouting report and having us prepared. We didn't make enough plays and that's what it boiled down to. LSU-Shreveport is a very good team, and we have to be able to make simple plays against a quality opponent. We talk about controlling what we can control, and we will get back to work this week because we have a quick turnaround facing Texas A&M University-Texarkana next."

History

The Saints were 10-21 against the Pilots prior to the series.

Game One

The Saints lost a heartbreaking nine-inning game to begin the series. The Pilots struck first and led 2-0 after two innings. The Saints tied the game in the following inning with an RBI triple from Caimyn Holiday and a ground out RBI from Jack Kalisky. OLLU went ahead by two runs in the sixth inning. Kobey Allison and Nicholas Alonzo both hit a sacrifice fly. The Pilots cut the advantage to one run in the seventh inning and took the lead in the eighth inning.

The Saints entered the ninth inning down by one run. Diego Zuniga hit a crucial single up the middle with two outs to score Aiden Gonzalez and knotted the matchup at 5-5. Vincent Banda followed with an RBI single to put the Saints up 7-5. The Pilots rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning by scoring three runs to win 8-7. Devin Benavides started on the mound and went 6.1 innings with four strikeouts. Chase Dunn pitched two innings in relief and suffered the loss despite striking out four batters.

Game Two

OLLU plated the first two runs of the game in the first inning. D'Artagnan Perez-Padron singled to second base that scored Zuniga and Kalisky on the play. The Saints lead held until the bottom of the fourth inning. The Pilots hit a two-run home run to even the score at two apiece. The Pilots took the permanent lead in the following inning when they stole second base and scored the runner from third. LSUS won 3-2 despite being outhit by the Saints. Noah De La Riva pitched all six innings with four strikeouts and three earned runs. De La Riva took the loss to move to 3-3 on the season.

Game Three

The Saints struggled offensively in the series finale. They gathered two hits and had eight players left on base. Jimmy Valle and Allison recorded the two hits, with Valle's being a double. The Pilots scored once in the first inning and again in the fourth inning. The rest of the game was a pitching battle, and the Pilots completed the three-game series sweep with a 2-0 victory. Esai Puente started on the mound for the Saints and suffered the loss after going 5.2 innings with two strikeouts.

Up next

The Saints play a three-game series at Texas A&M University-Texarkana starting on March 15.