Former HHS ace makes major league debut

Former Hahnville High School baseball pitcher Aaron Loup made his first appearance as a major leaguer on July 14 when he came on in relief in the sixth inning for the Toronto Blue Jays.

And Loup made his debut in style, retiring the next six batters he faced for two perfect innings.

Since his debut, Loup has made six more appearances for the Blue Jays. He is currently 0-1 on the season with a 2.79 ERA and six strikeouts. In Loup’s most recent game against the Seattle Mariners, he struck out two batters and did not give up a hit in one inning of work.

Loup was drafted by the Blue Jays in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball draft in 2009 after a successful college career at Tulane. In his junior season, the left-handed pitcher made 17 appearances on the rubber for the Green Wave, including a start against in-state rival LSU in which Loup picked up the victory. He tossed 6.2 innings in the contest, striking out four and walking just one. He also fanned a team-high 61 batters in his junior season in 57.2 innings.

In his first season with the Green Wave in 2007, Loup appeared in 17 games as a true freshman, including a pair of starts. He was tied for second among Tulane relievers in wins (two) while posting a 4.37 ERA, 36 strikeouts and a .289 opponent batting average in 35 innings of work. In his first collegiate start, Loup earned a victory over UAB after fanning five and allowing just one run on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work.

His longest outing of the year came against East Carolina in the Conference USA Tournament when he fanned three and gave up just a pair of earned runs in 6.1 innings.

Loup followed up his freshman campaign with a solid sophomore season in which he appeared in 15 games, including eight starts. He posted a 2-3 record with a 5.66 ERA and a .283 opponent batting average in 47.2 innings of work with victories over Oakland and Sacred Heart.

He tossed a season-long 7 innings in each of those games, including a five-hit shutout performance during his time on the hill against Oakland.

Loup got his start at Hahnville where he was a four-year starter for Tiger coaches Mark Sims and Frank Cazeaux. He helped lead the Tigers to four state playoff appearances and posted a combined 32-7 record during his prep career. Loup, who also struck out 121 batters in high school, was a two-time first-team All-District 6-5A selection. He was the lone underclassman on the 2004 All-State team after posting a 10-0 record and a 1.02 ERA.

Loup went 6-2 as a freshman, 7-2 as a sophomore and 9-3 as a senior.

 

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