ROCKABILLYS STADIUM | JACKSON, Tenn. - The University of Mobile Baseball team kicked off the 2024 SSAC Baseball Championship Tournament with a morning matchup against Loyola University (La.) on Wednesday, May 1, eventually falling to the fourth-seeded Wolf Pack 9-3 to begin pool play. The Rams, the fifth-seeded team in this year's tournament, drop to 18-20 overall on the year following the defeat.
Loyola managed to push across three runs in the bottom of the first inning before adding a pair of runs in both the second and third innings to open postseason play, taking an early 7-0 lead over Mobile to the middle innings. Mobile struggled to get anything going offensively against the Loyola pitching staff, totaling just two hits through the first eight frames. In the top of the ninth, Mobile's J.T. Lastorka put the Rams on the board with a three-run homer, his seventh long ball of the season. Lastorka eventually finished 1-for-4 at the plate on Wednesday, while both Sam Bowman and Landon Moore finished 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Mobile Head Coach Kyle Friday was forced to use four pitchers against Loyola, with the pitching staff allowing 17 hits and eight earned runs. No pitcher threw more than 2 2/3 innings on Wednesday.
The strong start from Loyola to open the conference tournament led the Wolf Pack to the six-run win over the Rams, putting Mobile at 0-1 entering Thursday's meeting with the top-seeded Eagles of Faulkner University (Ala.). Thursday's game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. CT in Jackson, Tenn. as both teams begin 0-1 in the tournament this year.
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About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
For information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu, connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
