Contact:
Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243
LEESBURG, Fla. (Mar. 17, 2022) - After a well-earned day off from action, the Loras College softball team (9-1, 0-0 A-R-C) was back to work on Thursday morning in THE Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla. The Duhawks earned their ninth-straight win in the first game of the day, taking down the Wheaton College Lyons (2-4, 0-0 NEWMAC) before the win-streak was snapped in the second game against the RV Babson College Beavers (9-4, 1-0 NEWMAC).
The Duhawks got on the board early in game one of the day against the Lyons as A-R-C Pitcher of the Week
Ashlyn Hemm hit a single to the gap in left center field with two outs in the inning. With a runner on first,
Claire Peachey found the same gap in left center for an RBI double the brought Hemm home to put the Duhawks up 1-0.
An inning later,
Ellie Schill led the inning off with with an infield single before moving to second on an
Abby Jones bunt. Schill made her way to third on the same play to bring up
Grace Houghton with two runners in scoring position. Houghton hit a sacrifice fly out to the shortstop that drove home Schill with
Jadyn Anderson due up at the plate. Anderson followed suit and hit a sacrifice fly out to the outfield that scored Jones to give the Duhawks a three-run advantage at the end of the third inning.
The score remained unchanged until the Lyons scored their lone run in the top half of the seventh inning but the Duhawks held on to take the 3-1 victory. Hemm made the start in the circle and threw a complete game, racking up 13 strikeouts and allowing only one run on one hit. At the plate, the Duhawks tallied five hits in the game, led by Jones who went 2-for-3, scoring one run while Schill, Hemm and Peachey each added a hit apiece.
Game two featured the Duhawks and the Babson Beavers, who were receiving votes in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top-25 poll. The score was an even 0-0 through the top of the third inning before Babson scored all three of the game's runs in the bottom half of the third on an RBI triple and an RBI single before the third run scored on a passed ball as the Beavers took a 3-0 win.
Kayla Stich got the start at pitcher for the Duhawks and threw 3.0 innings, allowing three runs on three hits before Hemm came in to close the game out in the final three innings where she allowed only one hit while striking out a pair of batters to bring her total thus far on the season to an impressive 107 strikeouts. Offensively, both sides were held to just four hits in the game with Houghton, Anderson, Peachey and
Emily Monahan hitting one apiece for Loras.
The Duhawks are back in action on Friday, Mar. 18 as they square off against the College of St. Scholastica Saints and the Wesleyan University Cardinals. First pitch against the Saints is scheduled for 10:15 AM (ET) with the game against Wesleyan to immediately follow at 12:45 PM (ET) in Leesburg, Fla at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex.
