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

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (May 12, 2022) - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Baseball AQ Tournament got underway in Cedar Rapids on Thursday afternoon as the RV Loras College baseball team (32-9, 15-9 A-R-C) opened postseason play against the Wartburg College Knights (23-20, 12-12 A-R-C). The No. 2-seeded Duhawks took down the No. 6-seeded Knights in their first game of the tournament, fueled by a dominant performance at the plate by sophomore utility player Nick DiBenedetto as the Duhawks etched themselves into the history books, setting the new single-season wins record with 32 on the season. 

The Knights jumped ahead to an immediate three-run lead in the top of the third on a three-run shot by slugger Ben DeKruyf but the Duhawks took control of the game in the bottom of the next inning, going ahead by six on the heels of a nine-run second inning. 

Joe Egan and DiBenedetto led the inning off with back-to-back singles before Ryan Wohlers laid down a sacrifice bunt that saw Wartburg pitcher Darren Kilpatrick muff the throw to first, bringing both Egan and DiBenedetto home on the play for the first two runs of the inning. With both sides battling a tight strike zone, Dakota Church drew a walk to put runners on first and second for Luke Fennelly, who laid down a bunt for a single to pave the way for Max McCallum to earn an RBI on a walk to tie the game up at 3-3. With bases still loaded and one out on the side, runners moved on a passed ball to score the go-ahead run before Daniel Rogers loaded the bases back up on a walk of his own before Wartburg turned to Kyle Oberbroekling on the mound. With a new pitcher on the mound, Dylan Pardoe stepped into the box and hit into a fielder's choice that saw Rogers thrown out on the play, but scoring Fennelly and putting runnners on the corners for Egan. In his second at-bat of the inning, Egan roped a two-RBI double before DiBenedetto followed suit and found the gap in left center to trade places with Egan for an RBI double of his own. Wohlers rounded out the Duhawks' scoring efforts, driving home DiBenedetto on an RBI single to put the Duhawks up 9-3 early. 

Wartburg responded in the top of the third as DeKruyf hit into a double play that scored a run but the Duhawks kept putting the pressure on the Knights in the bottom of the fourth. 

Rogers drew another walk on the day to lead off the bottom of the fourth before being joined on base by Pardoe who hit a single through the left side of the infield. DiBenedetto continued his dominant performance at the plate, bringing home both runners on a one-out triple off the wall in left center field. With two outs and DiBenedetto in scoring position on third, Church roped a shot at the third baseman, reaching base on a costly error that scored DiBenedetto for the Duhawks' 12th run of the game. 

The Knights kept battling at the plate through the seventh inning, scoring five unanswered runs to come within five before Max Cullen hit a double into the gap in left center, later coming around to score on a Pardoe single into center field to widen the Duhawks' lead to six runs at 13-7. 

In a last-ditch effort to catch up from behind, the Knights scored three in the top of the ninth inning on three hits but NCAA Division III saves leader Ethan Peters got the Duhawks out of the bind to secure the 13-10 victory over the Knights. The win comes as the Duhawks' sixth straight over the Knights and fourth straight this season. 

Davis Pasco got the start on the mound, tossing 3.0 innings and allowing four runs on four hits before Curtis Lilienthal made an early relief appearance in the top of the fourth inning. Lilienthal picked up his fourth win of the season, dealing 2.2 inning and fanning five while allowing three runs on three hits. Erik Edminster was the Duhawks' third arm of the game as he kept the Knights in check, keeping the Knights off the scoreboard and allowing only one hit with a strikeout. Danny Hiemer gave up two runs on two hits as he faced two batters in the ninth inning before Peters came in to faced the final four batters of the game, allowing one run on one hit with a strikeout. 

At the plate, DiBenedetto was just a home run shy from a natural cycle, hitting a single in his first at-bat, a double in his second, and a triple in his third as he went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Pardoe tacked on two RBIs in the game with a 2-for-5 outing. Cullen, Rogers and Egan added a double apiece in the game while Egan, McCallum and Wohlers rounded out the Duhawks' scoring with an RBI apiece. 

The Duhawks are slated to take on the No. 5-seeded Coe College Kohawks in the next round of the tournament. The Kohawks opened tournament play with a pair of wins over the No. 4-seeded Luther College Norse and the A-R-C regular season champions in the Buena Vista University Beavers. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 AM at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids.