Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243
 
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (Apr. 21, 2022) – The Loras College softball team (19-7, 4-6 A-R-C) made the trip to Mount Vernon on Thursday afternoon to take on the Rams from Cornell College (6-19, 4-4 MWC) in a non-conference doubleheader. The Duhawks earned a pair of dominant wins over the Rams to earn their 19^th victory of the season, marking the team's most wins since the 2018 campaign.
 
The Duhawks went to work immediately in the top of the first inning as designated player Grace Houghton stepped into the box with two outs on the side, driving a ball over the fence in left field to put the Duhawks ahead at 1-0.
 
The score didn't budge through the second and third inning, but the Duhawks' bats picked back up in the top of the fourth inning with Houghton continuing to excel at the plate with a lead-off single into center field. Senior Hannah Wubben then made an appearance to pinch run for Houghton, going on to steal second and be brought home on an RBI single into center field off the bat of Jadyn Anderson. With a two-run advantage and Anderson on second after advancing on the throw home to try to tag Wubben out at the plate, Payton Meier roped a double into the gap in left center to plate the Duhawks' second run of the inning. With an out in the inning and Emily Monahan at the plate, Meier made it to third on a wild pitch, only to be brought home on a ground out to shortstop to go up by four at 4-0.
 
The game drew to a close in the sixth inning as the Duhawks scored four runs on three hits in the inning with the first coming on a lead-off homer by Meier. A batter later, Whitney Leipold reached first on a throwing error by the pitcher before senior Taylor Donnell came in to pinch hit with an out in the inning. Donnell put two runners on base for Hughes on a single into the outfield, only for Hughes to take a pitch off the body and load the bases. Morgan Machovec came in for Hughes on the base path with all runners moving on a wild pitch with senior outfielder Ellie Schill at the plate, bringing home the sixth run of the game. The bases loaded back up as Abby Jones drew a two-out walk to bring Houghton back to the plate where she continued her red-hot game with a single into left field that brought home Donnell and Machovec to end the game an inning early with a final score of 8-0.
 
Freshman pitcher Ashlyn Hemm threw her 11^th complete game the season in the circle, holding the Rams to just one hit in 6.0 innings of action, fanning 10 of the 19 batters she faced for her 15^th win on the year.
 
The Duhawks rifled off 10 hits in the game, led by Houghton who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Meier added two hits and two RBIs of her own. Five Duhawks had a hit apiece while drawing two walks and recording only three strikeouts in the game.
 
In the second game of the afternoon, the score was at a stalemate until the Duhawks came alive in the top of the third inning, plating eight runs in the inning on seven hits. Schill got the offense rolling with a lead-off walk before stealing second to put a runner in scoring position for Jones, who reached on a bunt down the first base line to put runners on the corners. Houghton drew a walk to load the bases for Anderson, who also walked to bring home Schill for the first run of the game. With bases still loaded and no outs on the side, Meier found the gap in right center field to bring two runs home and extend the lead to three runs. Olivia Martinelli made an appearance on the base path pinch running for Meier and immediately made an impact, stealing second with Leipold at the plate. With runners on second and third, Leipold roped a single into center field and brought home Anderson and moving Martinelli to third. Leipold went on to steal second to keep two runners in scoring position for Monahan, who brought home Martinelli from third on an RBI single to the outfield. With a new pitcher in the circle and one out in the inning, Machovec hit a single into center field to load the bases for Schill, who reached on a fielder's choice that saw Machovec thrown out at second while scoring Leipold on the play. On the same play, Schill made her way to second on the throw that also saw Monahan plate the seventh run of the inning. The final run came after Schill took third to bring Jones back to the plate, scoring Schill on an infield single to see the Duhawks take a wide eight-run lead at the end of the third.
 
The Rams made a slow but steady comeback, scoring a run in each the fourth and fifth innings before scoring three in the bottom of the sixth to avoid their second loss of the day via the eight-run rule.
 
The Duhawks' final run of the game came in the top half of the seventh inning as Leipold led the inning off with a single into center field before making her way to second on a Monahan sacrifice bunt. Donnell hit into a ground out at second a batter later, moving Leipold to third, only to come around to score a batter later as Machovec hit an RBI single into left field to solidify the 9-5 win.
 
Freshman pitcher Reagan Spence got her first collegiate win in the circle for the Duhawks, dishing 4.0 innings and allowing only one run on three hits while striking out one. Shandi Rulli made an appearance in relief, tossing a pair of innings and allowing four runs on four hits before Hemm came in to close the game out, striking out two of the three batters she faced in the bottom of the seventh.
 
At the plate, the Duhawks had 13 hits, led again by Houghton who went 3-for-3 while Jones, Meier, Leipold, Monahan and Machovec each recorded two hits apiece. Meier tallied a pair of RBIs in the game while six others joined with an RBI each.
 
The Duhawks are back in action on Saturday, Apr. 23 as they head down the road to take on the University of Dubuque Spartans in a crosstown rivalry matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM at the UD Softball Field.