DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Loras returns to the confines of Petrakis Park for their first home series of the 2015 season. Sporting a 5-5 record, the Duhawks will look to shore up their pitching and defensive miscues that gave them problems last weekend in Jacksonville, Illinois.

SCOUTING REPORT: SIMPSON
Simpson enters this weekends matchup with the Duhawks as losers of six in their first eight games. While the Storm have succeeded offensively, hitting to the tune of a .295 average with a .387 on-base percentage, their pitching has lacked the ability to keep them in games. With a 7.30 earned run average, the Storm have only been able to outscore their runs against average once in a 13-8 victory over Minot State on March 12. Junior Gage Reis has been the most prominent bat in the Storm lineup, hitting .458 with a .500 on-base percentage in eight games. His seven RBIs also lead the team. On the mound, Reis is also the best pitcher on the staff holding a 4.91 ERA in two starts. Reis doesn't rely on strikeouts much, averaging just 6.55 per nine innings.

LORAS FALTERS IN JACKSONVILLE
The Duhawks are very happy to be home following an effort in Jacksonville in which they allowed 52 total runs to cross the plate in just four games. With a 1-3 record on the weekend, one positive takeaway is that Loras still managed to plate 33 of their own baserunners for an average of just over eight runs scored per game. On Sunday, the Duhawks grabbed early leads in both of their games before costly errors and pitching got the best of them. Luckily for Loras, these are things that typically improve over the course of the season. With a team as young as the Duhawks are, these mistake do not come as a surprise as these players get accustomed to the college game.

YOUNG RELIEVERS STEAL THE SHOW
In a series of appearances this past weekend, freshman relievers Nick Spiess and Robert Hovey both showed promise for the future of the program. Spiess appeared in Loras' 10-1 defeat at the hands of Hamline University. In relief of junior Alex Steines, Spiess took on the tough task of limiting any further damage on the scoreboard. The freshman threw 4.2 quality innings for the Duhawks despite allowing three runs to cross home plate. Most impressive was the fact the he recorded five strikeouts in that amount of time compared to just one walk. His lone walk marks the first time he's allowed a batter to take their base on balls in three appearances. Robert Hovey had himself a weekend as well, appearing in both games against MacMurray. On Saturday, Hovey locked down the final inning of the Duhawks lone victory by tossing a hitless inning. Hovey worked much deeper into Sunday's game in relief of senior Will Petrosky, facing 13 batters in 3.0 innings. Much like Spiess, Hovey caught five batters off guard for strikeouts. His command never wavered, resulting in zero walks.

NO PROBLEM FOR NEW STARTERS
In their first season on the starting lineup card, three Duhawk batters have made a significant impact on the Loras offense. Senior Adam Kennedy finished off the Duhawks second weekend of play with a .375 average in eight starts. Kennedy has provided pop in the line-up, leading the team with two home runs and 10 RBI. The senior narrowly missed his third home run of the season, but settled for a triple. Sophomore Nolan Ritter has endured some growing pains at shortstop, but his bat has made up for it. After eight games, Ritter ranks third on the team in batting average at .381. Ritter has also shown a patient eye, drawing four walks while striking out once. In the outfield, sophomore Tony Heiser has jumped out of the gate on a hot streak for Loras. Heiser leads the team in batting average (.400) and is third on the team with a .571 slugging percentage.

NEW GAME BALL GOING THE DISTANCE
Before the beginning of the 2015 season, the NCAA announced that it would be changing the game ball. With the new design, the ball has lower seams, which the NCAA projected would increase the average distance of a ball hit off the bat, without increasing the velocity of the ball off the bat. This change was made in an effort to increase offense, most notably in terms of home runs hit per game. So far at the Division I level, teams have seen a spike in home run production. For the Duhawks, they only hit one home run in their first 10 games in 2014. This year, Loras has hit four, with senior Adam Kennedy leading the way with two.

IRONING OUT THE KINKS
For the Duhawks to succeed this season, major improvements will need to be made on the mound. After solid performances in Florida two weeks ago, the Duhawks regressed this past weekend. Senior Adam Schwoebel has been the most consistant starter so far with an ERA of 3.97 in two starts. The same can't be said for the rest of this seasons starting rotation. Junior Patrick Walsh allowed 12 earned runs on Sunday after he allowed just one earned run in his previous start. Senior Will Petrosky also saw his fair share of struggles on Sunday raising his season ERA to 11.25. Much like Walsh, junior Alex Steines also pitched well down south, allowing just a single earned run. Steines struggled with his command on Saturday, allowing nine hits, seven earned runs, and three walks, while hitting three batters. Out of the bullpen, seniors Kody Massner and Connor Schreck have some work of their own to take care of. The pair of seniors in the back-end of the bullpen allowed a combined nine runs in two games.

KEYS TO BEATING THE STORM
Following last weekend's unusual results, Loras' offense is producing the runs it typically needs. As a team, Loras is hitting .319, up almost 100 points from their mark a year ago. This trend will most likely continue this weekend as the Storm's opponents have hit .365 this year. Simpson has had trouble this season staying out of the double-play ball, grounding into 15 double-plays as a team. The Duhawks starting rotation will be looking to bust out of a funk where they allowed 48 earned run in games against MacMurray and Hamline. Simpson has used four starters this season, none of which have an ERA under 4.00. Their best pitcher, Gage Reis holds a season ERA of 4.91 in two starts. Loras, who averaged eight runs per game last week, will have to bring that same mindset to Petrakis Park this weekend. If the Duhawk offense can take momentum from the Storm early and often in each game, Loras should have no problem earning victories this weekend.

TEBON NEARS 400 CAREER WINS AS A DUHAWK
Head Coah Carl Tebon enters this weekends pair of doubleheaders with Simpson just four wins short of 400 career wins as the skipper for the Duhawks. After picking up a win last weekend in Jacksonville, Tebon now has 396 wins on his record. Now in his 19th season at the helm, Tebon has averaged 20 wins per season. If the Duhawks can pull off a four-game sweep this weekend, Tebon will be in line to earn his 400th victory against Simpson on Saturday afternoon.

TEBON SUITING UP FOR 19TH SEASON WITH THE DUHAWKS
2015 marks the 19th season for head coach Carl Tebon at Loras College. As the skipper, Tebon has accumulated a 391-365-4 record, including an Iowa Conference Championship in 2009. Prior to Loras, Tebon was the head coach at UW-River Falls, where he coached for three years, compiling a 56-38 record.

LORAS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN IOWA CONFERENCE
In the preseason poll, the Iowa Conference coaches picked the Duhawks to finish third behind Buena Vista and Wartburg. In 2014, Loras advanced to the final day of the conference tournament before falling to Central.