DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Tuesday's matchup with University of Dubuque finishes the season series with the crosstown rivals. Loras took the first two games on March 31 and now go for the season sweep.

SCOUTING REPORT: DUBUQUE
This season, the Spartans find themselves in last place in the conference with a team batting average of .284. Having recorded the third least amount of runs batted in this season with 129, this can be directly related to the fact that they have struck out a total of 172 times in 26 games. The Spartans are also backed by the second to last defense in the league in terms of fielding percentage at .945. On the mound, the Spartans are much better, boasting the leagues fourth best ERA at 4.76. Dubuque is led on offense by Daniel Casanova, a .385 hitter who's a dual threat on the basepaths as well with 12 steals so far this season.  The Spartans' best pitcher has been Jordan Eastman who's 2.90 ERA is seventh best in the conference. Eastman holds a 2-5 record but has been much better than his record suggests. In his last three starts, the Spartans have scored a combined seven runs.

DUHAWKS STEAL ONE FROM WARTBURG BUT DROP SERIES
With a 1-3 record on the weekend, Loras' seniors finished their careers with a 3-12 record against the Knights of Wartburg College. The Duhawks stole a victory in game one of the four game series, starting on Friday afternoon. Senior Adam Schwoebel got back on track following a tough outing against Luther, earning his sixth victory of the season with his fourth complete game. Schwoebel threw seven innings allowing nine hits, two earned runs, and two walks, but didn't record a strikeout. The senior didn't earn swings and misses, but he consistantly held runners on first in check, picking off a season-high three baserunners. Loras used their situational hitting to pull off the victory, putting three runs across in the final frame to earn the win. Senior Anthony Flattery was the one who tied the game up in the seventh with a two RBI single off Wartburg closer Gavin Nadermann. Loras added nearly a full point to Nadermann's season ERA, increasing it to 2.53. The walk-off came via the batting eye of junior Spence Bonner who drew a walk to bring the winning run home. Games two through four weren't very encouraging for the Duhawks, as they allowed a total of 29 runs to score in three games. With just 12 runs of their own, Loras was unable to pull off the series split.

LORAS AIMS TO COMPLETE SEASON SWEEP OF DUBUQUE
For the third time in four years, the Duhawks swept their opening series against the Spartans of University of Dubuque. Loras knocked out the Spartans in two close pitchers duels 3-0, and 3-2. In game one, senior Adam Schwoebel earned his fifth win of the season, making him the first pitcher in the Iowa Conference with five wins. Schwoebel tossed a seven inning complete game shutout, allowing just three hits. The Althoff Catholic product was backed by a trio of RBI singles by sophomores Cole Reeg, Luke Leibforth, and Tony Heiser. Junior Patrick Walsh earned a much needed win in game two, tossing five scoreless innings and allowing just three hits and two walks. Walsh struck out just one batter, but held the Spartans scoreless. This was the junior's first scoreless outing of the season. Providing the offense in this one was senior Adam Kennedy who blasted a first inning double which brought three runs around to score for the Duhawks. The bullpen also pitched well for the Duhawks in game two, allowing just one earned run to score over the course of four innings pitched. Two more victories this weekend will mark five straight victories over the Spartans and seven wins in their last eight meetings.

A LOOK INTO THE PAST
Over the course of the past four seasons, the Duhawks have amassed a combined record of 8-4 against the University of Dubuque Spartans. Loras has enjoyed a great amount of success against the Spartans on the mound, with two of their seniors having proved in the past their ability to shut down the Spartans. Senior Adam Schwoebel has just a 1-0 record against Dubuque, but has thrown twelve shutout innings against them during his career as a Duhawk. The senior has allowed just seven baserunners while striking out eleven batters in three appearances. Senior Will Petrosky has also seen success against University of Dubuque, having thrown six solid innings against them his sophomore year. Petrosky has allowed five hits, one earned run, and one walk, while striking out seven Spartans in the process. Neither team has been very good against one another with the bat, as a total of just eight runs were scored in their first two meetings this season. Sophomore Tony Heiser and junior Patrick Walsh led the team in batting average for those two games with a .428 average apiece. Senior Adam Kennedy was the main difference maker earlier in the year, driving in three runs to single handedly defeat the Spartans. A three-run double from Kennedy in the first inning of game two sealed the victory and the sweep for the Duhawks.

KEYS TO BEATING DUBUQUE
Anytime University of Dubuque comes to town it poses a tough task for the Duhawks in a rivalry situation. One thing Loras has the ability to do is hit, which they will have to do in order to beat the Spartans. Against Wartburg the Duhawks used their situational hitting skills to knock off the Knights despite a game in which they hit .185 as a team. In order to beat Dubuque, the Duhawks will have to rely on consistant hitting throughout the series. The last meeting between the two teams came down to how well each team pitched, meaning the Loras will have to get a big jump of Dubuque's starting pitchers. On the mound, Loras' starters will need to replicate what they did against the Spartans earlier this season, allowing just 10 hits in two games. In those games, the Duhawks induced 19 ground outs which limited the Spartans chances of driving in a run on a sacrifice fly. Loras' pitchers must also be mentally prepared to pitch themsleves out of jams. In game two this season, Dubuque left 13 men on base, translating to the fact that the Duhawks were able to earn strikeouts and ground outs to quickly end innings. If Loras wants to keep these men on base they must cut down on their errors. The Duhawks have yet to play a game without committing an error this season and are 5-10 this season when committing two or more. For the Duhawks to complete the season sweep, they must continue to get on base and commit on the defensive side of the ball.

SITUATIONAL HITTING SUCCESS
With runners on base, Loras has hit .285 and .471 with the bases loaded. Loras has been especially strong when runners have been on third with less than two outs. In that situation, the Duhawks have hit .679, driving in 57 runners on 84 attempts. With two outs, the Duhawks have driven in 51 RBIs. Sophomore Tony Heiser leads in batting average in that catagory, hitting .429 with two outs and driving in nine two-out RBIs.  Heiser also leads the team in average with runners in scoring position at .429. Sophomore Nolan Ritter has also seen success in this department, hitting .385 with runners in scoring position and .343 with runners on base.

SCHWOEBEL FINDS HIMSELF NATIONALLY RANKED
Senior Adam Schwoebel has found himself nationally ranked thanks to his stellar performances to date. Schwoebel's four complete games have led to him being ranked fifth in the nation. His ability to go deep into games has provided the Duhawks the reliability neccessary to earn wins on the mound. The senior's six victories come into this week ranked 19th in the country. Both of which trail Cameron Cox of Concordia-Texas.