STORM LAKE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Stunned by Buena Vista in game one, the Loras College Softball team stormed back to take game two and come away with series split on Friday. Sophomore Danielle Stromert hit a home run to lead the offense while junior Makaila Haase earned her fifth win of the season in the circle.

Stromert opened the game with a free pass before back-to-back singles by freshman Regan Wolverton and junior Julie Kistner loaded the bases for the Duhawks (13-13, 2-4) in the opening frame. 

Grounding out to the right side, freshman Bria Lenten drove in Stromert. Loras went on to add two more, capitalizing on an error by the Beavers (12-13, 3-3) and earning a walk with the bases loaded, to hold a 3-0 edge.

Buena Vista responded with two runs in the bottom of the first before the Duhawks crossed the plate in the third. Junior Makaila Haase sent a shot deep into right field to score senior Holly Klein from third and move Loras lead to two, 4-2.

After the Beavers answered with a run of their own in their half of the third, Loras carried a 4-3 lead into the final frame.

Going down in order in the top of the seventh, Loras was upended 5-4 as the Beavers struck twice in the bottom of the inning to take game one of the doubleheader.

Scoreless through the first two innings of game two, the Duhawks took the lead in the third, scoring two runs. 

Senior Nora Zerante led the inning off with a walk before coming around to score on a dinger by Stromert, lifting the Duhawks to a 2-0 lead.

A two-run single by Kistner in the fifth, doubled Loras' lead while Haase and the Duhawks' defense kept the Beavers' bats scoreless through five innings.

The Beavers broke Haase's shutout in the sixth, cutting Loras' lead to 4-1. 

Loras wasted little time responding, adding two runs in the seventh. With runners on second and third, freshman Miranda Chapman laced a single to extend Loras' lead to 6-1.

A resilient Beavers squad clawed back within three before back-to-back strikeouts by Klein and ground out ended the game, 6-3 in favor of the Duhawks.

Game Changer
In game one, Buena Vista's fight in the final frame resulted in two runs to complete their comeback … Sophomore Danielle Stromert's dinger in game two swung momentum in favor of the Duhawks from that point on

Key Stat
Loras left 18 runners on base while the Beavers left 17

Notables

• Sophomore Danielle Stromert blasted the second home run of her career in game two, both have come this season
• Loras' two conference wins have both come on the road
• Senior Nora Zerante has reached base safely in 10 consecutive games
• Out of three conference doubleheaders, the Beavers have split all three

Up Next

A short turnaround pits the Duhawks against No. 13 Central on Saturday. Loras welcomes the Dutch to Faber-Clark Field for an Iowa Conference doubleheader with first pitch set for 2 p.m.