LINCOLN, Neb. (Duhawks.com) - After taking the opener on Friday, Loras baseball returned to the diamond and split with Nebraska Wesleyan in Saturday's doubleheader to improve to 10-14, 4-7 IIAC. Seniors
Luke Leibforth and
Nolan Ritter each recorded four hits on Saturday and combined to drive in four runs.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Game One
- The first inning saw a combined four runs scored, split evenly. Junior Danny Weis opened the scoring with a single to left field, scoring senior Tony Heiser and Leibforth.
- In the home half, the Prairie Wolves answered with a two-RBI single to left center to even the score.
- The Duhawks tacked on three runs in the fifth on a double by sophomore Danny Paluch and junior Mike Muto followed up with a single to right to score Paluch and open the 5-2 lead.
- Nebraska Wesleyan took its first lead of the game with four runs in the fifth and held on for the remainder of the game, winning 6-5, despite allowing 13 Loras hits.
Game Two
- The Duhawks had the offense rolling in the rubber game, scoring four runs over the first three innings.
- A Leibforth single to center was botched and allowed a pair of unearned runs to score. Junior Thomas Greffly tacked on a run via sacrifice fly to score sophomore Jake Oglesby who reached on a leadoff single to start the third.
- Trailing 3-1. Nebraska Wesleyan got its offense in motion and scored three runs over the next two innings to cut the deficit to one at 4-3.
- Loras erupted for a five-run fifth inning, thanks to seven hits and two errors by the Prairie Wolves to take a commanding lead at 9-3.
- Nebraska Wesleyan refused to go down without a fight and fought back to cut the deficit to three at 9-6, scoring a run in the home half of the fifth and two runs in the sixth.
- Senior Thomas Johnson opened the seventh with a double down the left field line and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Leibforth. A single by Paluch to left center scored Konagel who drew a walk earlier in the inning.
- Three runs by the Prairie Wolves kept the game in contention in the seventh and eighth but after Weis was plunked with the bases loaded, Loras regained its three-run lead.
- Junior Tyler Tomaka threw 3.2 innings of relief to earn the save, allowing three unearned runs while striking out four to preserve the lead and lift the Duhawks to victory.
NOTABLES
- Heiser's two stolen bases marked a career-high for the Lincolnshire, Ill. native and remains perfect this season with six stolen bases in six attempts
- Junior Robert Hovey improved to 4-0 this season, throwing 5.0 innings while allowing three earned runs.
- Oglesby tied a career-high with three hits in game two
- Ritter raised his batting average this season to .313 and needs 12 hits for 100 in his career
- Konagel extended has reached base safely in 13 consecutive games
- With two hits in each of Saturday's games, Leibforth now leads the Duhawks with 10 multiple-hit games this season
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Danny Weis | In game one, Weis knocked in two runs on three hits while scoring a run of his own. The Joliet Catholic prep is now hitting a team-best .393 and is second on the team with 16 RBIs.
Nolan Ritter | In game two, Ritter registered three hits in five at-bats, scoring three runs while driving in two and adding a stolen base.
UP NEXT
Loras concludes its season series against Coe on Tuesday after dropping both games to the Kohawks last week. First pitch from Quinby Field is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
