A solo shot in the second by Coe's (23-15, 7-7) Taylor Riedl was the lone blemish on senior Klein's pitching line in game one as Loras (19-19, 4-10) took to their half of the fourth trailing by one. 

Freshman Regan Wolverton opened the bottom of a fourth with an infield single before junior Julie Kistner's sacrifice bunt moved her into scoring position. With Wolverton on second, a bloop single off the bat of senior Katie Serpico put runners on the corners for freshman Bria Lenten with no outs. Ahead in the count, Lenten reached on an error, scoring Wolverton from third and evening the score at one. Timely RBI-singles by junior Makaila Haase and freshman Miranda Chapman capped a three-run fourth for the Duhawks, putting them in front, 3-1.

Holding steady in the circle, Klein's curve ball kept the Kohawk's bats in check as she sent a trio of batters down looking to lead the Duhawks to a crucial 3-1 win.

Seeking their first sweep of Coe since the 2012 season, the Duhawks were forced to square off against the Kohawk's ace, Arran Weeces. 

While Coe's bats gave Weeces run support early, the Duhawks struggled to find consistency offensively. With the Kohawks striking early, Klein took to the mound in the third in hopes of repeating her success from game one.

Trailing 4-0 through three and a half innings of play, an errant throw by the Kohawk's shortstop allowed Serpico to reach safely. Electing for a speedy threat on the base pads, head coach Ashley Winter lifted Serpico in favor of Klein. A textbook sacrifice bunt by Lenten moved Klein to second, bringing up Haase with one out. Ahead in the count early, Haase fouled off pitch after pitch before blasting the 14th pitch of the at bat over the fence in left center, cutting Loras' deficit in half.

A leadoff home run by the Kohawks in the sixth extended their lead to three, 5-2. Unwilling to allow further damage, Klein responded with back-to-back strikeouts before inducing a line out to end Coe's threat.

Loras' best opportunity to take the lead came in the bottom of the sixth after Serpico crushed a dinger over the fence in left field pulled the Duhawks within two. Back-to-back singles by Haase and Chapman kept the inning alive but Loras failed to push them across the plate, falling 5-3.
 

Game Changer
Loras' three-run fourth propelled them to a crucial win in game one … In game two, Coe carried a 3-0 lead through two innings to take control from the start

Key Stat
Strikeouts proved the be telling in Sunday's series as the team with the least amount came away with the win … Loras went down on strikes six times to Coe's seven … In game two, Loras recorded nine strikeouts to Coe's three

Notables

• Sophomore Danielle Stromert failed to reach base in game two, marking the first time Stromert has not reached safely all season
• Senior Holly Klein finished the season with 80 strikeouts, the most by a Loras pitcher since Kellie Klein finished the 2010 season with 75
• Senior Nora Zerante wrapped up her career, posting career-highs in walks (34), RBI (10), slugging percentage (.310), on-base percentage (.667), and hits (21)
• Loras finishes the season with two players ranked nationally in walks per game, senior Nora Zerante (29th) and sophomore Danielle Stromert (4th)
• Senior Holly Klein recorded career-highs in strikeouts (80), wins (10), innings pitched (105.2), appearances (30), and shutouts (2) … Klein tied career-highs in complete games (9) and saves (1)
• The game two loss leaves the Duhawks on the outside looking in, ending their season short of a Iowa Conference Tournament berth

Quotables
Ashley Winter, head coach
"We've talked about not having any fear and the idea of laying it all on the line with nothing to lose, when we do that we play our best softball."

"Holly and Nora just work so well together, her drop ball was on and that allowed her to go out there and be successful. I think being a senior too, she just wanted the ball in that situation. She's been someone who has always been willing to put the team on her back and carry us when we need her."

"One of the things I think our younger classes possess is a lot of speed and athleticism. I hope they were able to see the mental game that our seniors can bring, and I think if they can learn from them and their calm deamenor that they have possessed, and their strong leadership where they're always serving their teammates I think they have a very bright future."

"Our seniors are just amazing people. They got better and better over their four years here and I'm excited to see them all hit their peak here today. They have set a great legacy within our program."

Katie Serpico, senior utility player
"I think knowing it could potentially being our last game, we wanted to go out with a bang. Emotionally, we had to channel everything into getting hits or making the right pitch."

Holly Klein, senior pitcher
"One of the things we tried to stress this year is that we are young but we don't play like it. People tried to tell us over and over again that losing was ok because we were so young, it's fine you lost, but the underclassmen weren't satisfied with that. I think the three of us did a good job of keeping them confident and helping them realize they are good enough to win games."

"Coming in thinking these games could be your last, there was a lot of motivation behind that. I think Nora worked really well with the umpire today, I was getting some calls that may have been off the plate but she was able to frame them and get us calls. I think that was a huge thing for us, I was able to get ahead in the count and keep them off balance before getting them at the end."

Nora Zerante, senior catcher
"I think the girls have a really bright future. I hope we've shown them that they're capable of so much because they're a talented group. Hopefully they've learned from our calm approach and can carry that into next year and potentially shake up the conference a bit."