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Wolves score key district road win!
Loranger defeats Pearl River 3-2.<
PEARL RIVER, LA—In a hard fought defensive battle the Loranger Wolves scored a key 3-2 road win over district rival Pearl River, the current top seed in the LHSAA Division II Power Rankings. Loranger’s Tanner Matherne earned his second complete game win recording 21 outs, fanning seven, walking two, and giving up two runs unearned
The Wolves got on the board first plating a run in the second inning as Wyatt Garofalo walked and Hayes Holton reached on an error scoring Garofalo. Pearl River answered in the bottom of the third cashing in a pair of singles and a passed ball to take a 2-1 lead.
Loranger took the lead for good in the top of the seventh as the Matherne brothers Tanner and Logan reached on back-to-back walks followed by Garofalo walking to load the bases. Myles Cunningham then grounded into a double play but Tanner Matherne scored knotting the game at 2-2. JP Lusk running for Logan Matherne reached third and then scored on a passed ball to give Loranger a 3-2 advantage. Matherne then took charge on the mound fanning two of the Rebels final four batters and the forcing a ground out the end the contest and secure the Wolves win.
Hits were hard to come by as the Wolves managed only two and Pearl River only three. Loranger played error-free, while Pearl River had only on error.
Wolves mercy rule Hammond 18-8!
Wolves explode for ten runs in sixth to defeat Hammond.
LORANGER, LA—In a back and forth offensive show the Loranger Wolves rallied to outgun the Hammond Tornadoes 18-8 in action Saturday. The two teams combined for 25 hits, 15 walks and nine errors as offense ruled the day. Junior Tanner Matherne provided the only calm in the offensive storm as he worked two shutout innings to close out Hammond ending their production at the plate while Loranger exploded for ten runs in the bottom of the six to end the contest on the mercy rule.
The Wolves took the early advantage after Hammond’s Donald Weber scored on a ground out by Josh Triolo in the top of the first to lead 1-0. Loranger’s Hayes Holton walked and Matherne smacked a triple both scoring on an error. Wyatt Garofalo followed with the big blow hitting a dinger over the left field fence to give Loranger a 3-1 lead.
Hammond tied the game at three in the top of the second as Cullen Milliken, Weber walked and Ethan Young singled. Loranger answered in the bottom of the third when Cyrus Calmes singled and Holton doubled.
The Tornadoes took back in control in the top of the fourth plating four runs as Easton Herbst singled, Weber walks, Triolo was hit by a pitch, Caden Piediscalzo doubles, Josh Bush singles and John Bender singled. Loranger’s Matherne would silence the Hammond bats in the fifth and sixth setting up the Wolves big inning that ended the affair in the sixth.
Garofalo started the Wolves ten run explosion leading off with a walk followed by walks by Calmes and Holton. Garofalo would finish with three hits including a dinger and three RBIs. Lane Prevost was next grounding out to score Calmes followed by Garofalo scoring on a passed ball. Braedyn Stevens was hit by a pitch. Michael Walker was next hit by a pitch as Holton followed scoring on an error. Running for Stevens, Jaxsen Goudeau scored on an error making it 13-8 with two outs.
Getting the final out in the bottom of the sixth proved tough going for Hammond as Loranger plated five more runs ending the contest on the mercy rule. Myles Cunningham doubled starting the final scoring barrage, Garofalo singled followed by a single by Calmes, Holton earned another walk, and Prevost singled.
Loranger collected 15 hits while Hammond had 10. Walks and errors aided both offenses as Loranger had two errors and walked four while Hammond had seven errors and gave up 11 free passes.
Garofalo, Calmes and Prevost paced the Loranger offense with three hits each while Bush and Milliken each had two hits for the Tornadoes. Triolo started on the mound for Hammond fanning four in a no decision. Owen Hollander took the loss for Hammond in relief.
Wolves walk off with 7-6 win over Slidell.
Holton fans 12 and Logan Matherne hit double for winning run.
LORANGER, LA—It took ten innings to settle the matter as the contest remained tied at six after seven stanzas before the Loranger Wolves walked off with a 7-6 win over the visiting Slidell Tigers. Hayes Holton led off the bottom of the tenth reaching on a bunt and an error by the pitcher. Holton then stole second. After Tanner Matherne lined out, brother Logan Matherne doubled to score Holton and Loranger walked off with the win.
Holton started for the Wolves fanning a dozen Tiger batters before turning the duties over to relief. Logan Matherne took over going four innings to get the win on the mound. He collected three strikeouts as Loranger pitching combined to fan 15 Tigers.
The Wolves took an early 3-0 advantage through three innings. Slidell roared back in the top of the fourth using a lead off double and a walk to set up a three run dinger that tied it. Holton quieted the Tiger bats after that with a pair of strike outs to end the rally. Loranger used a pair of walks and a single by Myles Cunningham to plate two in the fifth and added another run in the sixth when Holton scored on a passed ball.
A Loranger error, hit batter and a walk aided Slidell in tying the contest up as they scored three in the top of the seventh.
Cunningham had three hits to lead Loranger while Matherne, Wyatt Garofalo, Kade Signorelli, and Layne Prevost all had two hits. The Wolves would finish with a dozen hits while the Tigers collected four. The Wolves host Hammond on Saturday.
NO HITTER! Tanner Matherne fans nine as Wolves defeat Ponchatoula 4-0.
Offense on a roll!
PONCHATOULA, LA—The Loranger streak continues as junior Tanner Matherne pitched a no-hitter to secure a 4-0 win over parish rival Ponchatoula. The victory was the fifth in a row for Loranger as they remained unbeaten on the season.
Matherne’s nine strike out performance kept the Wolves on top as they nursed an early 1-0 lead before Loranger broke things open in the top of the seventh plating three runs. Cyrus Calmes singled to score Hayes Holton who reached on a walk and then scored on a wild pitch. Wyatt Garofalo singled and Braedyn Stevens delivered a sacrifice to score Garofalo. Matherne fanned two of the three final batters in the bottom of the seventh and forced a ground to end the Green Wave’s chances.
The Wolves needed just five hits as Tanner Matherne, Logan Matherne, Garofalo, Calmes, and Myles Cunningham all singled.
Loranger will play local rival Saint Thomas Aquinas in a three-game series starting today (Thursday). The Falcon enter the series at 2-2. The series is expected to be a fan favorite as it will feature Hayes Holton, a Texas signee and Cameron Gangi a Oklahoma commit.
Wolves now 4-0!!!
Offense on a roll!
LORANGER, LA—The Loranger Wolves are off to an impressive start going 4-0 and pounding out hits while in command on the mound. In the past two game the Wolves have collected 20 hits and 21 run in defeating Pope John Paul II 13-1 and Northlake Christian 8-4. Senior Logan Matherne fanned nine batters in the mercy rule win over PJPII and junior Myles Cunningham worked the bump to a 6-1 lead before existing after four innings. Northlake rallied against a trio of pitchers used by Loranger to close it out but the damage was already done.
The Matherne brothers continued their terror at the play collecting hits in the past two games while Michael Walker and Hayes Holton have combined for four RBIs in the two-game stretch. Cunningham helped himself in the Northlake game with three RBIs.
The Wolves will play Ponchatoula on Tuesday. They defeated the Green Wave 13-0 in the Jamboree.
Wolves outlast Saint Pauls 5-3!
Holton and Matherne combine for 16 strikeouts!
LORANGER, LA—The Loranger Wolves hosted the battle of the wolves Thursday as they entertained the Saint Pauls Wolves. Senior Hayes Holton, a Texas signee, made his season debut fanning ten as Loranger edged Saint Paul 5-3. Junior Tanner Matherne worked three innings to finish fanning six more.
Despite for a third game in a row the Matherne brothers leading off in the top of the first with back-to-back hits, it was Lane Prevost that provided the offensive fireworks for Loranger. The junior followed up a double by fellow junior Hyatt Holton with a bomb over the left field fence in the second inning. The Wolves would finish with five hits with junior Wyatt Garofalo getting the fifth hit.
The Wolves take their show on the road Friday to take on Pope John Paul II.
AGAIN!!! Matherne Brother spark Wolves offensive explosion.
Loranger mercy-rules Edna Karr 10-0.
LORANGER, LA—For the second game in a row the Matherne brothers launched the Loranger Wolves offense with Tanner Matherne leading off getting on base this time hit by a pitch and older brother Logan batting second smacking a dinger over the left field fence. The first inning 2-0 lead over visiting Edna Karr grew to 10-0 over five innings as Loranger collected a mercy rule win on opening day. Tanner would go on to notch his own solo home run in the fourth and the brothers combined for five hits and four RBIs. In all the Loranger offense collected 11 hits.
Hyatt Holton earned the win on the mound for the Wolves working four and two-thirds fanning four, walking four and not allowing a single hit. Connor Husser finished up the pitching duties record the final strikeout
The fourth inning proved the key to Loranger breaking open the contest as they plated four runs. Along with Tanner’s solo dinger Hayes Holton drew a walk scoring one run, Cyrus Calmes grounded out scoring a run, and Wyatt Garofalo singled scoring a run.
Along with the offensive output by the Matherne brothers Myles Cunningham added two hits and one RBI scoring twice. The Wolves ran the bases freely collecting nine stolen pads.
Wolves roll over Ponchatoula in Jamboree.
Three pitchers combine for a no hitter.
PONCHATOULA, LA—Every dog or wolf has their day the saying goes and for the Loranger Wolves the Ponchatoula Jamboree was their day as they no hit the Ponchatoula Green Wave en route to a 13-0 win in five innings. The Wolves collected 12 hits and three different pitchers combined for the no hit shutout.
The Wolves started the romp in impressive fashion as the Matherne brothers combined for a quick two-run lead in the top of the first with Tanner reaching on double followed by a home run by Logan. Senior Hayes Holton struck out the side in the bottom half and Loranger was off and running
Loranger built a seven run lead over the next three innings and broke the contest wide open in the top of the fifth plating six runs. Myles Cunningham went 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Logan Matherne collected three RBIs on two hits and Tanner Matherne added two RBIs on two hits
The Green Wave used six different pitchers with Brayden Tardie having the best outing recording three strike outs. Some early season nerves were on display as both team notched a pair of errors.
Ponchatoula will hit the road to open the regular season as Ponchatoula travels to Zachary, while Loranger will open at home against Edna Karr.
Wolves expect improvement in 2026.
Baseball Preview
LORANGER, LA—After finishing one game under five hundred at 13-14, the Loranger Wolves enter the 2026 season with a top heavy roster of four seniors and eleven juniors and a determination to take the next step.
“Last season we had a lot of learning with new coaches coming in and the guys understanding how we do things and just getting to know each other,” said Loranger head coach Derek Sims. “Now everyone is comfortable, and I believe we are in a good place as a program. We are very fortunate to have ten guys that have a lot of varsity experience with eight of them that are everyday players and a couple of guys that are challenging for spots and playing time.”
“We kind of know what we have we just need to improve on that. We played a lot of sophomores last year and now they are more mature physically and more ready to produce especially when it comes to play at the plate,” continued Sims. “Hopefully the natural maturity and weight training will turn into more runs because we feel pretty good about our pitching staff.”
Along with physical development coach Sims has challenged his team to improve their mental toughness something they worked on this past fall. “We had what we called a toughness week where we put them through a series of challenges to see if they could push through the wall both physically and especially mentally.”
Sims continued, “Baseball is a game of failure and you want to see who can flip things around when it is not going well. How a player responds to failure determines their mental toughness. Even though we lost fourteen games last year many of them were one and two run games. We were that close but a mental mistake here or there would cost us.”
The Wolves indeed have maturity on the mound with their top two senior pitchers in Hayes Holton and Logan Matherne already signed up to play at the next level. Coach Sims expects pitching to continue to be a strong part of their game. “Tanner Matherne Logan’s younger brother threw a bunch of innings for us last year so he will bring a lot of experience,” said Sims. “Myles Cunningham is another solid performer for us so we feel good about our top four, and we have about five other guys that are working hard and competing so we can have some guys we can count on out of the pen.”
“Certainly we coaches have the goal that our starters can give up five innings before we have to go to the pen,” continued Sims. “Going into the season believe we will have five starters we just have to determine the order and best matchups as the season progresses.”
Error free baseball is always the goal and can make or break a good pitching performance. “When Hayes is not pitching he will play shortstop and when Logan Matherne is not on the mound he is a mainstay at third. If Hayes needs a day off from playing short he will play first base and DH for us, said Sims.”
The Wolves have senior behind the plate in Braeden Stevens who delivered some log balls last season. “We have a couple of guys capable of playing centerfield and are competing which gives us depth,” explained Sims. “Tanner Matherne played a lot for in right field last year when not on the mound, senior Michael Walker in left field and we have Wyatt Garofalo who is a solid utility guy.”
“It is always like a puzzle creating a lineup everyday determining what combination of players will give is us the best chance,” continued Sims. “Three of our four seniors have earned a permanent spot on the field, but it is not like we always have a set group at every position and the good news for us is that we have a lot of guys that can play more than one position. You start with who is pitching and then who is hot at the plate to arrange the lineup that gives us the best chance.”
Hitting is hard at every level and the ones who can deliver are most prized at every level. For the Loranger Wolves they are working to be more productive in generating hits and good at bats to go with their solid pitching staff. “We are fortunate this year to have four guys that have played a lot of baseball growing up and were productive last season. The large group of sophomores we had last year are now juniors and we have seen a lot of improvement over the past eighteen months not to mention the obvious physical grow that often occurs from sophomore to junior. So this year we feel like we have ten or eleven guys that can help us at the plate,” explained Sims.
“The ability is there in this group,” continued Sims. “It is just about execution and seeing who will step up Starting in the summer the guys were in the weight room two or three times a week and what makes us coaches proud is this group actually loves the weight work, and we do not have to force anything. They want to get bigger and stronger.”
“We have some home run potential in this group but when you start chasing home runs it can have negative affect as to consistency and hitting for average and moving guys around the diamond to generate runs,” added Sims. “We want to eliminate constantly hitting fly balls that make for easy outs.”
The run game to put pressure on opposing teams is another way to create runs explained Sims. “We want to use the run game, but you first have to have base runners,” said Sims. “If you get a runner on and then the next guys strikes out you limit your options so we need hits and good at bats that generate guys on base and then you can create pressure. Good a bats where the pitcher throws ten or twelve pitches and walks you that is another form of pressure on the defense as the pitch count goes up and all those pitches were all for not.”
A good culture and clubhouse is essential for success and Coach Sims credits his players with the Wolves being in a very good place. “The culture with this group is very good, and I credit the players for this a not so much us coaches,” explained Sims. “We have great senior leadership. They want to win and the rest of the guys respect their leadership. A great example of this is one day before practice I had to meet with some folks working on our facilities and my assistant was not there so when I finally got back to the practice field twenty-five minutes later they had already started doing everything we had planned for that day. There was no goofing off and waiting for the coach to come.”
Looking ahead at league play the District was very competitive last season with no real dominate team. “Our district is one I believe prepares you for the playoffs,” said Sims. “If you play well, you have a chance to win but you do not play well you are going to lose. Everyone is well coached and all the teams have good players so anyone can beat anyone on a given day. There is no easy game.”
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