Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

PELLA, Iowa (Apr. 23, 2021) - The Loras College softball team (1-19, 1-15 A-R-C) opened their weekend in Pella on Friday afternoon as they faced the Dutch from Central College (12-7, 10-5 A-R-C) in American Rivers Conference action. The Duhawks forced the Dutch into extra innings in the first game of the afternoon but fell in both contests.

Loras took off immediately in the first inning of the first game after Abigail Bergholz reached second after hitting a double to left field with one out in the inning. With two outs on the board, pitcher Taylor Donnell drew a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball to then reach third on a throwing error by Dutch catcher Madison Farrington that scored Bergholz and put Donnell in scoring position for Grace Houghton. An error on Megan Stuhr at first base saw Houghton reach base and Donnell score to put the Duhawks up 2-0 after one inning of play. 

The score stayed in the Duhawks' favor at 2-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning as the Dutch scored one back on an error with a runner on third to cut the lead to one run midway through the game. 

The Duhawks tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth inning to paid their lead at three runs after Houghton led the inning off with a single to center field. Head coach Ashley Winter turned to Hannah Wubben to pinch run for Houghton, who advanced to second on a single from Jessica Bulanda that put two runners on base for Alexus Jensen. With two outs in the side, Jensen lined a single to right field, getting caught in a pickle and scoring Bulanda and Wubben in the process to go up 4-1 after six. 

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Central's Katie Banowitz hit a three-run homer to tie the game at 4-4 and take the game into extra innings where an RBI single saw the Dutch emerge victorious at 5-4. 

Donnell threw a complete game in the circle for the Duhawks, allowing five runs on eight hits. Offensively, six Duhawks recorded hits with Jensen going 1-3 with one RBI on the night. Bergholz, Donnell, Wubben and Bulanda all accrued runs in the game. 

Game two saw the Dutch strike first in the bottom of the second on an infielder error and scoring three more in the bottom of the third inning to go up 4-0 at the midway point of the game. 

A two-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Dutch a six run advantage to close out the game with a final score of 6-0 to take the second game of the day. 

Kayla Stich had a solid outing at pitcher for the Duhawks, pitching a complete 6.0 inning game and recording two strikeouts, allowing six runs on eight hits. 

At the plate, Hadalynn Anderson, Jadyn Anderson, Abby Jones and Jensen each recorded a hit. 

The Duhawks are scheduled to take on the Dutch in the series finale on Sunday, April 25 in Pella, Iowa. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.