IOWA CITY, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Loras came within four outs of upsetting Iowa, the 2017 B1G Ten Tournament Champions, on Wednesday afternoon at Banks Field. Five runs in the final two innings by the Hawkeyes handed the Duhawks their fourth loss of the season, 6-4.
Ryan Koester finished 2-for-2 and reached base in all four plate appearances to lead Loras.
PRESS CONFERENCE (Link)
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
- Iowa opened the scoring in the bottom of the third thanks to a solo home run by Robert Neustrom … Neustrom was picked as the B1G Ten Preseason Player of the Year
- Koester singled back up the middle in the fourth and later stole second before being left on base
- The first two Hawkeye batters in the fourth reached base before a failed sacrifice bunt attempt landed in the glove of
Cole Thompson behind the plate … Without any hesitation, Thompson rifled his throw down to first for the double play
- Koester led off the seventh with his second walk of the day and advanced to second after a sacrifice attempt by
Jake Oglesby …
Danny Paluch's single to left brought Koester around to score and tie the game at 1-all
- After
Aidan Wojciehowski struck out the side in the seventh, the bats came alive for Loras in the eighth … Back-to-back singles by
Luke Fennelly and
Austin Konagel followed by a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position for the Duhawks … An inentional walk to
Danny Weis loaded the bases before Koester unloaded a single back up the middle followed by an Oglesby RBI single to left field … The scoring concluded with a sacrifice fly by
Danny Paluch, leaving Loras ahead by three, 4-1
- Iowa wasted no time and produced three runs on one hit, a bases-clearing double to the left-center wall in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game
- After a 1-2-3 inning by Loras in the ninth, the Hawkeyes celebrated a walk-off home run to win, 6-4
NOTABLES
- Iowa improved to 15-1 all-time against the Duhawks … Loras' lone victory came in the 1980 season in game two of a doubleheader
- In 6.0 innings for his career, Wojciehowski has not allowed a hit and has recorded six strikeouts … This season, Wojciehowski has 18 strikeouts in 12.0 innings and opponents are hitting .075 against him
- Weis snapped his 13-game hitting streak following Wednesday's performance
- Konagel, Oglesby and Weis have all reached base safely in each of the Duhawks' 14 games this season
- Koester recorded his fifth multiple-hit game of the season, which ranks second on the team
- Following Wednesday's game, Paluch now has 50 RBIs for his career
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME - RYAN KOESTER
- Koester reached base safely in each of his four plate appearances, collecting two singles and two walks … He scored Loras' first run and later drove in a run during the Duhawks' three-run eighth inning
UP NEXT
Iowa Conference play opens on Friday for Loras with a three-game series against Simpson. The Storm are 1-10 this season and enter on a five-game losing streak. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 2 p.m., with game two to follow.
