LMU’s Scott Gets Two Wins

When the shadows grow long on afternoon double-headers, Loyola Marymount Coach Chris Smith looks at his pitching corps and sees a thin red line. So far this season, Smith has lost starting pitchers to injury (Brian Walker) and ineligibility (Mike McNary).

So it makes Smith especially happy when he sees Darryl Scott still sitting at the end of his bench.

Smith called Scott’s name twice Saturday afternoon, and the senior right-hander responded with victories in both ends of Loyola’s West Coast Conference sweep of visiting University of San Diego.

Twice in double-headers this season, Smith has looked at All-American catcher Miah Bradbury as a temporary pitching solution. Bradbury hasn’t been scored upon this season, but that doesn’t mean Smith likes having to use him.

Saturday, Bradbury had to come out from behind the plate to work an inning-and-a-third of relief behind starter Joe Caruso and reliever Chris Spears.

But when Bradbury got into trouble in a 5-5 tie in the first game, Smith turned to Scott, who pitched an inning-and-two-thirds of scoreless relief to get the win in the opener. Loyola won, 6-5, when freshman shortstop Chris Gomez singled Scott home from third base with two outs in the ninth.

A half-hour later, Scott (now 3-1) was back on the mound. He scattered eight hits and struck out five in a 4-3 complete-game win.

Saturday afternoon, Loyola backed Scott with some clutch defense. The Lions turned six double plays on the day. And Loyola (11-6 overall, 6-2 in conference play) also got just enough timely hitting to get the job done.