INDIANOLA, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - A four-run ninth inning in Friday's opener propelled the Loras baseball team to the 10-7 win over Simpson. Junior
Danny Weis was stellar at the plate, smashing three extra-base hits and driving in a pair of runs.
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDÂ
- The Storm jumped on the Duhawks in the second, plating two runs on two hits. Junior Brad Schwind worked himself out of the the jam by getting Trent Dooley to strike out, leaving two runners on base.
- Loras cut the Simpson lead to one in the top of the third when junior Michael Muto hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring senior Tony Heiser from third.
- After a leadoff walk to senior Thomas Johnson to begin the fourth, Ritter reached base on a throwing error and later stole second. Senior Luke Leibforth drove in the tying run on a two-out RBI single to right center.
- With a man on and two outs in the bottom half of the fifth, the Storm regained the lead as Hunter Hillygus hit a two-run home run.
- After the first two batters reached base for the Duhawks in the top of the sixth, Leibforth laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Ritter and sophomore Austin Konagel into scoring position.
- Heiser drove in his second runner of the day on a single to left and Konagel later scored on a fielder's choice. Weis later ripped a double into the left center gap to score Koester.
- Trailing by two, Simpson crafted a two-out rally to take the lead at 7-6.
- In the top of the ninth, Loras started its comeback with a single by Ritter. After stealing second, Ritter came around to score the tying run on a double to left by Konagel.
- Two more errors by the Storm gave the Duhawks the lead at 9-7. Weis capped his day at the plate with a triple to right center to score sophomore Sean Miller from second.Â
- Junior Tyler Tomaka gave up a lead-off double before getting the next three batters out to shut the door for a 10-7 Loras victory and his first career save
NOTABLESÂ
- Loras improves to 7-2 in their last nine meetings against Simpson
- Junior Ben Milks improved to 2-1 this season coming on in relief of Schwind in the seventh inning
- As a team, the Duhawks recorded a season-high seven stolen bases
- With the win, Loras improved to 7-6 overall and earned its first IIAC win of the season
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAMEÂ
Danny Weis | The Joliet Catholic prep continued his hot start to the 2017 season, going 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs, a triple and two doubles. Weis now has seven RBIs this season and raised his batting average to .533.
UP NEXTÂ
The Duhawks return to the diamond on Sunday for the final two games of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m from Indianola.
