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

Apr. 29, 2021 - After falling behind by eight runs after the first two innings, the Loras College softball team (2-20, 2-16 A-R-C) sparked a mid-game rally to force the University of Dubuque Spartans (18-12, 7-11 A-R-C) into extra innings. Sophomore Grace Houghton was the hero in the bottom of the ninth inning, driving in the game-winning run on a walk-off RBI single to left field to push the Duhawks past the Spartans with an 11-10 final score. 

A pair of three-run homeruns in the top of the first inning saw the Spartans take an early six run lead in the game, adding two more in the bottom of the second inning to go up by eight in the early portion of the game. 

The Duhawks responded in the bottom of the third inning after senior Madison Franks drilled a single up the middle, moving up to second on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Hadalyn Anderson. Franks made her way to third on a Houghton groundout to bring Abigail Bergholz to the plate. With two outs in the inning, Bergholz lined a single to center field to score Franks and cut the Spartans' lead to seven. 

An inning later in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Duhawks put five straight on the board with Gabriella Garcia leading off by hitting a single to center field with Jadyn Anderson following suit a batter later to put two on the bases for Alexus Jensen. Drawing a walk, Jensen loaded the bases for Jessica Bulanda, who reached base on a fielder's choice to the shortstop that saw Garcia score for the first run of the inning. Sara Vander Mause came in to pinch hit for Ellie Schill a batter later, a move that paid off for head coach Ashley Winter and the Duhawks, as Vander Mause hit a hard ball to shortstop to reach first and score J. Anderson from third. With one out in the inning, H. Anderson turned on a perfect pitch and hit a three-run shot over the left field fence to bring the score to 8-6 after four innings of play. 

After a scoreless fifth inning for both sides, the Duhawks took advantage of the opportunity to continue to close the gap on the Spartans' narrow two-run lead. Schill led the inning off with a single down the right field line to bring Claire Peachey up to bat, who reached base on a walk to put two runners on the path for H. Anderson. An error from Dubuque shortstop Kylee Biedermann saw H. Anderson reach first and load the bases for Houghton, who reached base on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on another error from Biedermann that scored Peachey and Schill to tie the game up at 8-8. 

With the score still tied after the seventh inning, extra innings were necessary to crown a victor. Neither team put a run across the plate in the eighth inning to put Dubuque back up to bat in the top of the ninth where they scored two on a solo homerun and an RBI single. 

Down by two in the bottom of the ninth, Bulanda put a ball in the outfield for a lead-off single to bring Schill to the plate, who reached on a throwing error from pitcher Nicolette Evans, advancing to second on the play to put runners on second and third for Peachey. An RBI single to right field saw Bulanda cross the plate, followed by Schill who scored after a throwing error by right fielder Emily Bloomer. With the score tied, H. Anderson advanced Peachey to third on a sacrifice bunt to bring Houghton to the plate with one out in the inning and a runner on third. Houghton lined a single to left field to score Peachey and take the Duhawks past the crosstown rival in the Spartans and win 11-10 in walk-off fashion. 

Kayla Stich got her first win of the season in the circle for Loras, throwing a solid 8.0 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with one strikeout on the day. 

Bulanda had a career day at the plate with a career-best three hits on the day, going 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Schill and J. Anderson each posted two hits apiece while H. Anderson led the Duhawks with three RBIs to her name. The Duhawks had a season-high 14 hits in the game and took advantage of seven Spartan errors to score a season-high 11 runs in the game. 

The Duhawks continue their stretch of home games this weekend as they play host to the Wartburg College Knights on May 1 for an American Rivers Conference doubleheader. First pitch of the first game is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Faber-Clark Field in Dubuque, Iowa.