WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (Duhawks.com) - The Loras baseball team concluded it's annual trip to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a sweep of Hope on Monday. Junior
Brad Schwind led the way on the mound in game one, pitching a complete game to pace Loras to the 3-2 victory. Sophomore
Austin Konagel led the way in game two, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs while scoring two runs to spark the offensive barrage that ended with an 11-5 win for the Purple & Gold.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Game One
- Both teams were held scoreless until the top of the fourth when the Duhawks capitalized on two errors, allowing sophomore Danny Paluch and junior Michael Muto to cross home giving Loras a 2-0 lead.
- Following a lead-off double down the left field line by senior Nolan Ritter, junior Ryan Koester knocked in Ritter on an RBI single, giving the Duhawks a much-needed insurance run and 3-0 lead.
- Trailing by three in their last at-bat, the Dutchmen orchestrated a seventh-inning rally resulting in two runs on two hits.
- With the tying run on base, Schwind finished off Hope with a groundout to end the game.
Game Two
- Loras used the momentum from game one and built an early lead in game two jumping out to a 5-0 lead on five hits, batting around the order in the process.
- Hope struck back in the next half inning with the bases loaded and one out, capitalizing on a Loras fielding error that cut the Duhawk lead to three.
- In the home half of the second, Loras made the most of a similar situation, striking for two runs on two hits and a Hope error after a sacrifice fly by Paluch and an RBI single by Konagel.
- With the bases loaded and one out for the Dutchmen, Danny Carrasco roped an RBI single to left, scoring one. Junior Robert Hovey hunkered down and retired the next two batters to halt the Hope rally.
- In the top of the fourth, Hope capitalized on another Loras fielding error with a two-RBI double from JP Batts.
- The Duhawks pulled away for good in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits, highlights by a two-out single from Heiser that plated two.
- Juniors Ben Milks and Tyler Tomaka kept Hope off the scoreboard the rest of the way to give Loras the 11-5 win.
NOTABLES
- The Duhawks return to the .500 mark for the second time this season at 6-6 and finish the Florida road trip with a 4-3 record
- Junior Danny Weis had his season and career-high nine-game hit streak snapped but extended his on-base streak to 10 in game one
- Konagel broke his single-game high in hits with four in game two
- Hovey remained perfect in his career, improving to 5-0 with the win in game two
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Brad Schwind | The Hoffman Estates, Ill. native picked up where he left off last outing against Utica, pitching a complete game and striking out seven, recording his first complete game in the process. Schwind improves to 2-1 this season.
Austin Konagel I The third baseman was on fire from inside the batters box in game two by going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Konagel has seven hits in his last 12 at-bats.
UP NEXT
The Duhawks hit the road for a three-game weekend series against Simpson to open Iowa Conference play. Game one of the three game set is scheduled for Friday, March 24 with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. from McBride Field in Indianola.
