Loyola’s Luke Clement tabbed SSAC player of week

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Loyola Wolf Pack baseball team is red-hot right now, winning 12 of their last 13 games and on a nine-game winning streak, and Luke Clement has been a major reason why. After dominating at the plate in five games last week, the junior transfer was named the Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

Loyola started with two mid-week wins over Xavier and Spring Hill before sweeping Talladega College in an SSAC matchup. The sweep of the Tornadoes was Loyola’s third straight sweep of league competition, too, and it’s now 30-17 overall and 15-6 in SSAC play. Clement went 11-for-20 at the plate with four home runs, three doubles, six RBI and 12 runs in those five wins last week, extending his on-base streak to 25 straight games as well as an 11-game hitting streak. During that on-base streak, Clement is 38-for-87 with a .437 batting average, tallying 26 runs, 25 RBI, 10 doubles, seven home runs and 17 walks.

The Southaven, Mississippi, native started the week with a 3-for-4 performance against Xavier, scoring three times with one RBI, then he went 1-for-3 the next day at Spring Hill with a home run, two runs scored and three walks. Against Talladega on Friday, Clement went 1-for-3 with a two-RBI double before a three-home run day in a doubleheader against the Tornadoes the following afternoon. In the first game of the doubleheader, he was 4-for-5 with two home runs, four runs and four RBI, then he followed that up with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate in the second game of the doubleheader.

As the team’s designated hitter, Clement leads the Pack with a .383 batting average this season while also contributing eight home runs, 10 doubles, 29 RBI, 28 runs and a .485 on-base percentage.

Loyola is scheduled to host Senior Day against Louisiana Christian at 4 p.m. on Tuesday before hitting the road for games against Brewton-Parker on Thursday and Friday. The Wolf Pack and Barons will play Game 1 at 5 p.m. CDT on Thursday before a doubleheader on Friday scheduled to start at noon CDT.

PREVIOUS WINNERS (PLAYER, PITCHER)

Week 1: Trevor Wells (Mobile), Brady Bowen (Loyola)
Week 2: RJ Stinson (WCU), Garrett Martin (Middle Georgia)
Week 3: Patrick Lee (WCU), AJ Stinson (WCU)
Week 4: Bilal Whittle (Stillman), Stephen Still (Loyola)
Week 5: RJ Stinson (WCU), Jorge Ramos (WCU)
Week 6: Jose Santiago (Talladega), July Sosa (Faulkner)
Week 7: Drew DeMasi (BPC), July Sosa (Faulkner)
Week 8: Jordan Funk (Faulkner), July Sosa (Faulkner)
Week 9: Ryan Wilson (Middle Georgia), July Sosa (Faulkner)
Week 10: Jackson Smith (BPC), Garrett Martin (Middle Georgia)
Week 11: Allen Dennis (Loyola), Nicholas Graham (Faulkner)
Week 12: Tucker Musgrove (Mobile), Stephen Still (Loyola)

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