DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Currently in a tie for third place in the Iowa Conference, the Loras Baseball team heads to Pella, Iowa for their final weekend series of the season against the Central College Dutch. At 13-11, the Duhawks will need a strong weekend to secure a No. 3 seed in next weekend's Iowa Conference Tournament.

SCOUTING REPORT: CENTRAL
Central took three of four games against Luther this past weekend to secure their spot in the Iowa Conference Tournament. Heading into the final weekend of regular season play, the Dutch rank fifth in the league in batting (.293) and fifth in the league in pitching (4.71). Offensively, Central is led by Zach Zylstra, who has the third most hits in the conference with 55 and his .382 batting average ranks fourth in the IIAC. Central will throw three of the league's ten best pitchers in terms of ERA this weekend in Dylan Deveney, Andy Carr, and Dakotah Wolken. These pitchers have held the Dutch steady all-season long. Wolken is one of the best strikeout artists in the conference with 50 punch-outs in 52 2/3 innings this season. Defensively, Central has been the second best team in the conference this season with only 50 defensive errors.

LORAS EARNS SPLIT WITH BUENA VISTA
Following a weekend series with Buena Vista that was filled with excitement, the Duhawks came away with a series split. Thanks to a spout of rain, each teams starters got an extended rest which showed in the series. The first three games of the series were decided by a single run. Loras came out on top winning two of those close games before being defeated 7-1 on Monday night. Sophomore Tony Heiser stole the show offensivley for Loras, hitting the ball when his team needed it the most. Heiser hit two consecutive walk-off's for Loras in order to help the team clinch a conference tournament birth. Despite hitting a combined 3-for-11 in four games, Heiser saw the ball well all weekend, fouling-off as many as six pitches in-a-row prior to hitting the game-winning single on Sunday.  Junior Patrick Walsh also saw the ball well, combing to go 5-for-15 with three RBIs. Starting pitching was also a strength for Loras with each of Adam Schwoebel, Will Petrosky, and Alex Steines tossing some of their best outings of the season. Schwoebel was unable to earn his eighth victory of the season, but went the distance in a 2-1 loss. Petrosky earned a no decision for his efforts, but allowed just a single earned run in five innings of work. Steines was the best of the bunch, tossing a complete game with nine strikeouts en route to a 2-1 victory over the Beavers.

A LOOK INTO THE PAST
Over the past three seasons, Loras has accumulated a record of 4-7 against Central College. On the mound, Loras' current crop of seniors have seen their fair share of stuggles against the Dutch. Senior Will Petrosky owns the best record against Central at 2-2. Over his 19 innings pitched against Central, Petrosky has allowed 18 hits, 12 earned runs, and 11 walks, while striking out 19, leveling out to a 5.68 ERA. Senior Adam Schwoebel has yet to earn a victory against the Dutch. At 0-2, Schwoebel has pitched 14 innings while giving up 21 hits, 11 earned runs, and six walks, while striking out seven. Schwoebels estimated career ERA against Central stands at 7.07.  At the plate, junior Patrick Walsh has seen the most at-bats out of any current Duhawk. In eight games, Walsh has hit 6-for-29 with five RBIs and a run scored.

STEINES PICKING IT UP AT THE RIGHT TIME
With an eight inning complete game against Buena Vista, junior Alex Steines is picking it up at just the right time. With the Duhawks trying to find consistant pitching towards the back of their rotation, Steines proved that he has what it takes to pitch for Loras in the conference tournament. In his longest career outing, Steines allowed just four hits, one earned run, and one walk, while striking out nine batters. His nine strikeouts matched his mark from earlier this season against Simpson College. Both of the outings now lead the team in single-game strike outs by a pitcher.

LORAS CLOSING IN ON THIRD
The Duhawks entered 2015 with seven new starters in the field, and a transfer in the pitching rotation. Having started the year off with just five returning starters on both sides of the ball, Loras was chosen to finish third in the Iowa Conference this season. Despite a young roster, Loras currently sits at 19-16 overall and 13-11 in the Iowa Conference. With just four games left to play in the regular season, Loras is closing in on third place. If the Duhawks are able to win just one of their four games against Central this weekend, it will be the first winning season that this years crop of seniors have had since the 2011-2012 season. Two wins will ensure that the seniors go out with an overall record above .500.

KEYS TO BEATING CENTRAL
At 16-19, the Dutch of Central College may not appear to be as formidable of an opponent to the naked eye, but looking deeper they match up very well with the Duhawks. This season, Central ranks fifth in the conference in both batting average and ERA. Each of those ranks are higher than those of the Duhawks who come n at sixth in batting, and seventh in pitching. Central has also been the second most efficient team on defense while the Duhawks rank last in the Iowa Conference. One major advantage for Loras is the rate at which they get on base, with a .375 on base percentage, the Duhawks get on base at a much greater rate than Central with a .351 percentage. Central ranks last in the conference in walks taken, and fourth in strikeouts. This could lead to solid performances from the Duhawks on the mound. If the rotation stays course with what they've been doing recently, the Duhawks should be able to earn a handful of victories this weekend.

STEINES NAMED IOWA CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
For his efforts this past weekend, junior Alex Steines has earned himself an honorable mention for the Iowa Conference's Pitcher of the Week. The Dubuque native helped lead the Duhawks to a 2-1 victory over Buena Vista on Monday afternoon, throwing a season-high eight innings. In those innings, Steines matech his previous career-high in strikeouts with nine. This mark tied his March 20th performance against Simpson College in which he struck out nine batters. Steines ranks ninth in the conference with 41 strikeouts in 43 innings pitched.

SITUATIONAL HITTING SUCCESS
With runners on base, Loras has hit .287 and .409 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 .656, driving in 61 runners on 93 attempts. With two outs, the Duhawks have driven in 68 RBIs. Sophomore Tony Heiser leads in batting average in that catagory, hitting .409 with two outs and driving in eleven two-out RBIs.  Heiser also leads the team in average with runners in scoring position at .391. 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 five complete games have led to him being ranked sixth 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 seven victories come into this week ranked 11th in the country. Both of which trail Cameron Cox of Concordia-Texas.

TEBON EARNS 400th WIN AS A DUHAWK
With a 7-2 win over Coe on March 27, Carl Tebon became the second current coach in the Iowa Conference to win his 400th game with one team. To date, three other coaches with Iowa Conference ties have clipped the 400-game mark. Joel Holst, the current head coach at Wartburg, is nearing 600 career wins, 100 of which came during his tenure as the Loras head coach.

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. Loras has a young roster in 2015 and will look to stake claim towards the top of the Iowa Conference.