Loyola Marymount, San Diego Split Doubleheader

Loyola Marymount baseball Coach Chris Smith has seen enough of the San Diego zoo. The University of San Diego zoo, that is.

“They’ve got some animals on that team that can really hit,” Smith said. “Two right-handed hitting animals.”

Smith was referring to San Diego’s No. 3 and 4 batters--Tony Moeder and Kevin Herde--who continued to give the Lions fits in Saturday afternoon’s doubleheader at Loyola’s Page Stadium.

Led by Moeder and Herde, San Diego pounded 14 hits in winning the opener, 10-4. But in the second game, Loyola Marymount was able to salvage a split with a 14-3 victory.

The two teams split the season series, 3-3, although San Diego (18-26-2 overall) has a West Coast Conference record of only 10-16, good enough for fifth place.

Loyola Marymount (28-18 overall, 18-9 in WCC play) remained in second behind first-place Pepperdine, which split a doubleheader at St. Mary’s Saturday.

“Baseball is a little different than football,” Smith said. “Just because our record is better than theirs doesn’t mean that they are automatically going to lose. Those guys didn’t come here to lose.”

Especially not Moeder and Herde, who combined for seven hits in the doubleheader.

San Diego scored early against senior left-hander Chris Spears in the opener. Spears (7-6) lasted only 2 1/3 innings, giving way to right-handers Joe Caruso and Chad Nichols, neither of whom fared much better.

The Toreros belted four triples in the first game--by Moeder, Dan McAdoo, Sean Gousha and Ed Scofield--and added a sixth-inning home run by Rick Doane.

Moeder had a streak of five consecutive hits, including the triple and two doubles.

The Lions got 10 hits in the first game, but three double plays--designated hitter Joe Testa grounded into two--proved to be their undoing. San Diego right-hander James Ferguson (4-6) earned the decision.

In the second game, Loyola Marymount scored two in the first against San Diego starter Marc Bouchard (0-3), then added seven runs in the third to put the game out of reach.

The Lions flexed their muscle in the second game with three home runs--from Testa (his ninth), first baseman Joe Ciccarella (10th) and second baseman Darrel Deak (eighth).

Outfielder Terrell Lowery (.333) had four hits in the doubleheader, including two doubles in the second game.

Ciccarella, the Lions’ leading batter, also stayed red-hot. He had six hits and five runs batted in the doubleheader, raising his average to .432. Ciccarella also pitched two scoreless innings to close the second game.

Left-hander Jon Willard (6-3) earned the decision in the nightcap.

Despite the loss in the first game, Smith was upbeat about his team’s chances of catching Pepperdine or gaining an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs, which begin in late May.

The Lions trail Pepperdine by five games in the loss column, but finish the season by playing host to the Waves in a crucial three-game series that begins May 17.

Loyola Marymount plays its next nine games on the road, however, including tough nonconference games at USC and Cal State Fullerton.

“We can still make it, definitely,” Smith said. “It depends on what we do and what everyone else does the rest of the way.”