They battered 16th-ranked McDonogh for 18 hits, including seven doubles and a home run. But more importantly, eighth-ranked Loyola unofficially won the first half of the league season.
Yesterday's 17-10 victory improved the Dons' record to 9-0 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and 10-2 overall, as the Eagles slipped to 4-6 overall, 1-6 league.
The Dons begin the second half of the 10-game conference schedule by playing host to No. 2 Mount St. Joseph on Tuesday before visiting No. 3 Calvert Hall on Thursday.
"Once we got going in the beginning of the year, I guess that's something we really wanted -- to beat every team in the league first-time around," said left fielder Mike Naylor, who was 3-for-5 with two doubles.
McDonogh was the sixth ranked team the Dons have defeated, including defending MIAA A Conference champ Calvert Hall and league runner-up Mount St. Joseph.
The Dons also have a win over Chesapeake of Anne Arundel County, a recent upset winner over top-ranked, defending Class 4A state champ Arundel.
"We don't look at the rankings and say, 'This is where we should or shouldn't be.' They don't matter much right now. It's where we end up that counts," said Brad Siegert, who was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and lacked only a triple for the cycle.
Still, the ranking is not bad for a team that failed even to reach the conference playoffs last season.
And under first-year coach Tim Nordbrook, formerly of Loch Raven, the Dons are a hard-hitting group.
Loyola's leadoff hitter, Adam Rohr, was only 1-for-3 yesterday but had a game-high four RBIs and scored twice. No. 2 hitter Bryan Seward had three RBIs, including a second-inning two-run single.
No. 3 batter Steve Pyzik was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, and No. 4 Jeff Fertitta was 2-for-5 with two doubles as Loyola batted around in scoring five times in both the second and third innings.
"We figured we could have a good season," said Pyzik, who is headed for Clemson. "But no one, including me, thought we'd be doing this well. I guess this team's proven me wrong."
But the Eagles, with 10 hits, didn't go down quietly.
McDonogh's Cap Poklemba went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and lacked a triple for the cycle, and Tim Heller was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles.
Jeremy Brown finished at 2-for-3. His two-run home run gave McDonogh a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the third. And McDonogh's three-run fourth inning made the score 10-9.
Siegert's home run sparked Loyola's fourth, which included Jason Culotta's double with two outs and three errors by McDonogh. Loyola led 12-9 entering the fifth.
Ryan Smith was that lone Loyola player who went hitless, but even he found a way to add runs. Smith walked with the bases loaded and nailed a fifth-inning shot was marked as a run-scoring error after it was mishandled by the center fielder. Smith got two RBIs and also scored twice.
"Everyone contributes," said No. 5 hitter Brett Smigala, who was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. "We haven't faced the best pitchers from every team, but we will from now on."
McDonogh's Paul Winterling and J.B. Doub each went 1-for-2. Winterling had two RBIs and Doub one RBI.
No. 5 Fallston 13, No. 14 C. Milton Wright 6: Mike Duncan had two hits, including a three-run home run, and five RBIs as the Cougars (6-1) downed the host Mustangs (5-3) in Harford County. Steve Little had three hits and drove in two runs for Fallston, which matched a season-high with 19 hits.
Pub Date: 4/15/99