Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243
 
PELLA, Iowa (Apr. 11, 2022) – After inclement weather pushed the series back an entire week from its originally scheduled date, the No. 22 Loras College softball team (16-4, 3-3 A-R-C) made the trip to Pella on Tuesday afternoon to take on the Dutch from Central College (16-10, 4-2 A-R-C) in their first American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) series on the road this season.
 
The score remained at an even 0-0 through the first two innings of game one of the afternoon as freshman pitcher Ashlyn Hemm went to work early, striking out the side in the bottom of the second before the Dutch put a pair on the board in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly and an RBI bunt for a single.
 
Central struck again in the fourth and the fifth, scoring an insurance run in each before closing out the game in the sixth inning by the eight-run rule as the Dutch kept the Duhawks in check, allowing only two hits in the game.
 
Receiving her first loss of the season in the circle, Hemm dished 5.1 innings, allowing eight runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts while she tallied one of the Duhawks' two hits in the game, going 1-for-2 at the plate while Abby Jones hit a double for the Duhawks' second hit.
 
In the second game of the day, neither side put a run on the board until the Dutch went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning on an infield groundout with a runner on base to bring the runner home. The Duhawks responded in the top half of the third inning as Emily Monahan led the inning off by drawing a walk before immediately stealing second to put a runner in scoring position for Ellie Schill, who put runners on the corners on a bunt for a single. Morgan Machovec loaded the bases up on a fielder's choice with Grace Houghton due at the plate, where she did her job driving in a run on a groundout to the shortstop to tie the game at one a side.
 
The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fifth inning as the Dutch solidified the sweep on a ground out with two runners in scoring position to bring home the winning run and take game two by a final score of 2-1.
 
Reagan Spence got the start in the circle for the Duhawks, throwing 5.0 innings and allowing the Dutch's two runs on six hits before Hemm came in to close the game out, striking out one of the three batters she faced in the sixth inning.
 
The Duhawks fired off five hits in the game, led by Houghton who went 2-for-4 with the Duhawks' only RBI in the game while Payton Meier and Claire Peachey tallied a double apiece at the plate.
 
Loras returns home to Faber-Clark Field on Wednesday, Apr. 13 as they take on the RV Wartburg College Knights in a midday doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM in Dubuque, Iowa.