WAVERLY, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras baseball team took down the top dogs on Friday, handing Wartburg its first two conference losses of the season. After Saturday, Loras improved to 15-5 this season and 4-1 in the Iowa Conference. The Duhawks scored the final four runs of the game in the opener, before jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the night cap. Tyler Tomaka earned a pair of saves, bringing his season total to five.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Game One
- Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Loras gunned down a Wartburg runner at the plate in a 1st-and-3rd situation, keeping the deficit at one
- The Duhawks had their rally cut short in the seventh with runners at the corners and one out, but failed to score after Austin Konagel was thrown out trying to steal second and Cole Thompson lined out to end the inning
- In the bottom of the seventh, the Knights tacked on two insurance runs without the assistance of a hit, capitalizing on a walk accompanied by an error and a balk
- Loras caught its break in the eighth and made Wartburg pay for its two errors as Danny Paluch drove in two with a single to right field, tying the game at three
- With the game heading to the 11th, the Duhawks made their move to get in front, thanks in part to a leadoff double by Thomas Greffly … After a sacrifice bunt that moved Greffly to third, - Thompson's speed kept Loras out of an inning ending double play and allowed Greffly to score the go-ahead run
- In the 11th, Wartburg loaded the bases with two outs before a fly out ended the game

Game Two
- With the first game going to extra innings, game two turned into a seven-inning contest
- The Purple & Gold wasted no time mobilizing the offense, striking for two runs in the first off a single by Ryan Koester, who would later score on an error
- Thompson's RBI single in the second extended Loras' lead to 3-0
- The Knights got a run back after loading the bases in the third and scoring on a fielder's choice
- Bryza's RBI single in the fifth gave the Duhawks the three-run lead once again at 4-1
- Wartburg answered immediately with three singles and forced Loras to go to the bullpen in Tyler Tomaka … The Knights did not salvage a hit off Tomaka, but cut the lead to one at 4-3 after a wild pitch
- Tomaka earned his fifth save of the season, locking down to the one-run lead and struck out four in his 2.2 innings of work

NOTABLES
- Loras' win in game one snapped a 10-game losing streak to Wartburg, dating back to the 2015 season
- Since the 2013 season, three of the Duhawks' four wins against the Knights have come in Waverly
- Konagel and Jake Oglesby both extended their streaks on Saturday, having now reached base in all 20 games this season
- Luke Fennelly currently holds the longest active hitting streak on the team at eight games
- Greffly set a career-high with three hits in game one, bringing his average to .372 this season
- Brad Schwind ran his career strikeout total to 175, finishing with six in game one
- Danny Weis registered his 100th career hit 

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYERS OF THE GAME - Tanner Fallon & Tyler Tomaka
- The relief pitching was the anchor to Loras' success on Saturday, with Fallon throwing 3.0 innings of relief in game one to earn the win and Tomaka collecting a pair of saves

UP NEXT
Loras closes the season series with Wartburg on Sunday with first pitch from Hertel Field scheduled for 11 a.m.