LOVES PARK, Ill. (Duhawks.com) - In non-conference action on Tuesday night, the Loras baseball team saw its early lead erased after a five-run fifth inning by Rockford. Senior
Nolan Ritter was 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of walks and two stolen bases.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
- Rockford opened the scoring in the bottom half of the second with a two-out rally, kickstarted by a double to right center. Â Mitchell Gorusch later came around to score on an RBI single by Dalvin Ramos.
- Sophomore Jake Oglesby got the offense in motion with a single up the middle to start the third. After a pair of wild pitches, Oglesby came in to score on an infield single by sophomore Austin Konagel.
- After a walk to senior Luke Leibforth, junior Danny Weis knocked in Ritter to give the Duhawks the 2-1 lead.
- Following a single and two stolen bases from Ritter, Leibforth singled to the left side, scoring Ritter for the 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth
- Rockford responded with a five-run fifth inning of its own, highlighted by two extra-base hits that drove in three of the five runs
- In relief, senior Zack Forkenbrock was unable to halt the Regents' rally, conceding a two-RBI single to left field to give Rockford a 6-3 advantage.
- Ritter led off the seventh with a single to left center and moved into scoring position on Leibforth's first pitch single.
- After a sacrifice bunt by Konagel moved both runners into scoring position and a walk to Weis, Koester and Paluch struck out to end the inning.
- Freshman Sean Conneely tossed the final two innings for Loras. In his collegiate debut, Connelly held Rockford scoreless while striking out two.
- The Duhawks' comeback bid failed to gain traction, stranding two runners in the eighth and going down in order in the ninth.
NOTABLES
- Weis extended his on base streak to 15 games
- Leibforth and Konagel each extended their hitting streaks to four games
- As a team, Loras stranded 10 runners on base, including at least one runner in four of the last five innings
- Ritter moved into the team lead for multiple-hit games this season with eight
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Nolan Ritter | The Onalaska, Wis. native went 2-for-2 on Tuesday, picking up two stolen bases and scoring two runs. Ritter leads the Duhawks with a perfect 15-for-15 stolen base mark.
UP NEXT
The Duhawks return to the diamond on Friday, March 31, for their home opener against Wartburg in the first of a three game series. Loras went 5-9 at home last year. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m from Petrakis Park. Baseball fans can tune into the Duhawk Broadcast Network and catch all the action, as well as following along on Twitter (@LorasBaseball).
