STERLINGTON, La. – The Tiger baseball team played their final contest in the Cajun Collision against #23 Loyola University (La.) Sunday afternoon. Campbellsville's walk-off home run snagged the 7-6 win as they completed the Cajun Collision 2-2.
Garrett Maloney stepped onto the mound to pitch for the Tigers. Maloney walked the first batter but settled for nothing more. The next three batters returned to the dugout as Maloney collected his first two Ks of the contest.
Campbellsville used the bottom of the first inning to jump out on Loyola. Josiah Clark doubled to right center to earn the Tigers a spot on the bases. After a pitch had hit Henry Wright, Noah Amenta exchanged a single up the middle for an RBI. Moments later, three Campbellsville players stood with bases loaded. However, the Tigers could not produce any more runs and left the runners stranded to close the inning.
In the top of the second inning, Loyola evened the score at one run a piece as one of their batters homered with two outs pressured against him. Once it was the Tigers' turn at the plate, Lorenzo Gonzalez attempted to strike back. Gonzalez advanced around the base path to third base but was left stationed as the inning closed out.
The action picked back up at the top of the fourth inning. Loyola found themselves with bases loaded with no outs. Zane Morrison came into the competition to relieve Maloney on the mound. Morrison's fashioned a strikeout and took down his first foe. Loyola worked their way around the bases and scored twice more to lead Campbellsville 3-1.
Alex Castaneda was to be put out at first but advanced to second on an error by the first baseman. L. Gonzalez slammed a pitch over the left field wall to score himself and Castaneda. The runs sat tied at three. Campbellsville found open gaps and worked the count to load up first and second base. Loyola made a pitching change in hopes of slowing the Tigers. Wright singled to left field to bat in Jorge Gonzalez. Campbellsville took back the lead by one run over Loyola.
The Tigers did not sit comfortably for long. Loyola had two batters walk and were in scoring position. Zack Bromstead entered the game for Morrison. Bromstead's first batter homered, and three batters trotted around the base path.
In the bottom of the sixth, L. Gonzalez placed Campbellsville in a solid position to put a run on the board. However, Loyola executed a double play and then put out the third batter to halt the Tigers' attempt.
The Tigers faced a two-run discrepancy as Campbellsville entered the final inning. Amenta and Chad McCann loaded up on first and second base with one out. Grant McQueary faced adversity as he stood in the batter's box with two strikes. McQueary slammed a pitch over right center for a walk-off home run. The Tigers defeated Loyola 7-6 and ended their time in the Cajun Collision 2-2.
At the end of the contest, Campbellsville fashioned nine hits compared to Loyola's five. The Tigers batted a .400 with runners in scoring position, whereas Loyola amassed a .286 in the category. L. Gonzalez finished the afternoon batting 1.000 after going 3-3 and collecting two RBIs. Amenta followed closely with a .500 at the plate and one RBI. McQueary's walk-off gathered him three RBIs. Campbellsville threw a .603 strike percentage, just trailing Loyola's .700 percent.
The Tigers will continue their trek on the road as they travel to Webber International University Thursday afternoon. Reinhardt University (Ga.) will host the contest, and the first pitch will be at 12 p.m. ET.
