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

IOWA CITY, Iowa (Mar. 1, 2022) - The Loras College baseball team (3-0, 0-0 A-R-C) made the short trek to Iowa City on Tuesday night to take on a Big Ten opponent in the University of Iowa Hawkeyes (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten). A two-run third inning proved to be a decision-maker against the NCAA Division I Hawkeyes as the Duhawks earned their second win over the Hawkeyes in the 17th meeting between the two teams.

The Duhawks got off to an immediate lead in the first inning as Dakota Church led the inning off with a base on balls before Luke Fennelly put two runners on the path with a single through the left side of the infield. A batter later, Max Cullen flied out to deep center field, seeing Church advance to third on the play before Fennelly stole second to put two runners in scoring position for Daniel Rogers. With two outs in the inning, Rogers hit an infield single to drive in Church from third to put the Duhawks up 1-0 at the end of the first inning. 

Neither side scored in the second inning as the Duhawks' defense kept the Hawkeyes at bay, holding them to just one hit in the inning before tacking on two more runs in the top half of the third. Church continued his solid day at the plate in the third inning, leading off the inning with a single to center field before advancing to second on a throwing error by the catcher, moving even further into dangerous territory on the base path by making his way to third on the play. With an out in the inning, Cullen found the gap in left center field to bring Church home and take second for an RBI double, putting another runner in scoring position with Dylan Pardoe due at the plate. Pardoe followed with a single to center field that saw Cullen advance to third on the play and later score on a throwing error by the center fielder to give Loras a 3-0 edge after three innings of play. 

The score didn't budge through five innings of play as the Duhawks' pitching and defensive play kept the Hawkeyes scoreless until the bottom of the ninth inning, where Iowa made a late-game push that fell short, scoring one run on an infield RBI single. American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Pitcher of the Week Ethan Peters sealed the deal on the victory with a pair of strikeouts to end the game in dominant fashion on the mound. 

At the plate, Loras collected seven runs in the game, led by Church who went 2-for-4 at the plate, scoring a pair of runs while Cullen and Rogers both went 1-for-3 with an RBI apiece. The Duhawks had the game's only extra-base hits with Church and Cullen hitting a double each. 

Head coach Carl Tebon turned to Davis Pasco to make the start on the mound, seeing the junior throw 6.2 innings without allowing a run on five hits while striking out three before Peters closed out the game. Peters put in 2.1 innings of work on the mound, allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts to earn his first save of the season. 

The Duhawks turn their attention to the Westminster College Bluejays for a four-game series on the road. The first doubleheader of series begins on Saturday, Mar. 5 with first pitch scheduled at 12:00 PM with the second game to immediately follow.