DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - After splitting the opening doubleheader against No. 13 Wartburg on Friday, the Duhawks were unable to avoid the big inning, falling 10-3 and 9-3 on Saturday. Senior
Spence Bonner for 3-for-4 in game one with one RBI, while senior
Adam Kennedy went 2-for-3 in game two with an RBI.
Pitching against his former team for the first time, junior
Alex Steines went to work in the first inning and sent his former teammates down in order with ease.
Loras (15-14, 9-9 IIAC) went to work in their half of the first, beginning with sophomore
Cole Reeg reaching on a throwing error. After a sacrifice bunt by senior
Anthony Flattery and a walk by junior patrick Walsh, the Duhawks failed to take the lead as Bonner lined out to third and sophomore
Tony Heiser flew out to right.
Wartburg (26-7, 16-6 IIAC) took the lead in the second thanks to a two-out single by Ty Mougin to right center, scoring DJ Utley. The Knights nearly added a second run on the play, but a great relay from sophomore
Nolan Ritter gunned out Jake Thumann at the plate.
The Duhawks finally answered in the third, after a single by Bonner down the left field line, scoring Flattery from second, who had singled to center.
After a quiet fourth, Wartburg retook the lead in the top of the fifth, thanks to a leadoff home run from Milton Croes. Steines hung a breaking ball over the plate and Croes drove it over the left field wall to give his team the lead.
Trailing by two entering the bottom of the seventh, the Duhawks strung together four hits to level with Wartburg. With the bases loaded, Heiser blooped a single into left field, scoring Walsh and freshman Danny Weis, who came on a pinch runner.
Loras' quest for a second walkoff win on the weekend was denied after sophomore
Luke Leibforth grounded into a 5-6-3 double play.
The wheels came off the carriage for the Duhawks in the top of the eighth, as Wartburg erupted for seven runs on six hits. The deficit proved to be too much for Loras, as Wartburg held on to take the game three win, 10-3.
Game two of the day picked up right where game one left off, as Wartburg tallied seven runs over the course of the first two innings.
After the Knights tacked on another run in the third, Kennedy roped a single down the left field line to drive in Loras' first run of the game. Two batters later, Ritter blasted a double to the left-center gap to drive in two and cut into Wartburg's lead.
An unearned run in the fifth capped the scoring for the Knights who rode out the rest of the game with a six-run lead to take the series three games to one with the 9-3 win.
Game Changer - Game 1After scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the ball game, Loras surrendered seven runs in the eighth inning, losing all momentum that they had acquired
Game Changer - Game 2The Knights picked up right where they left off in game two, pounding away seven hits in the first two innings to take a commanding 7-0 lead
Key Stat - Game 1The Knights took advantage of the cards they were dealt, hitting 5-for-8 with runners on third base
Key Stat - Game 2On 14-of-23 occasions, Wartburg advanced the runner compared to Loras' 6-of-16
Notables 