Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

DECORAH, Iowa (May 8, 2021) – The Loras College softball team (2-26, 2-22 A-R-C) saw six players register a hit in Saturday's series finale against Luther College (25-13, 14-10 A-R-C) and Gabriella Garcia led the Duhawks with an RBI, but the Duhawks came up short in a 3-1 decision to close out the regular season.

The Norse put up their first run in the second inning and tacked on another in the fourth inning to lead 2-0. Jessica Bulanda drilled a single to right center and advanced to second following a single by Ellie Schill to left field, giving the Duhawks two runners on base in the fifth, but a strikeout for the Norse ended the side. Great defense by the Duhawks left two Norse stranded to end the inning with no more runs, opening the door for Grace Houghton to get on base off a single to left field to start the sixth inning. Hannah Wubben came in to run and found her way around the bases, scoring off a double by Garcia to put the Duhawks within striking distance of Luther's lead. The Norse got runners on base off a single in the bottom of the sixth and put a runner in scoring position which led to an unearned run scoring to give Luther a 3-1 cushion. The Duhawks looked to get something going with a single by Abby Jones in the top of the seventh but Luther's pitcher closed out the game with a pair of strikeouts as the Norse held on for the win.

Abigail Bergholz, Houghton, Garcia, Jones, Schill and Bulanda each had a hit while Garcia led with a double and had four assists on defense. Taylor Donnell pitched all six innings for the Duhawks, recording two strikeouts and allowing ten hits with two earned runs.

The Duhawks will have another go at Buena Vista University from earlier in the season in the play-in game for the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament on Tuesday, May 12. The game will take place at top-seeded and conference champion Coe College with first pitch set for 3 P.M. in Cedar Rapids.