Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243
 
May 7, 2022 – Celebrating their seniors in their final series at home on the season, the RV Loras College baseball team (31-8, 15-8 A-R-C) played host to the Simpson College Storm (18-20, 9-14 A-R-C) at Petrakis Park on Saturday evening. With the No. 2 seed in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) tournament looming, the Duhawks needed just one win to clinch the spot and receive a first-game bye in the postseason. Graduate student second baseman Dylan Pardoe left his mark on the field in his final series as a Duhawk, hitting the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth in game one to win in walk-off fashion before the Duhawks locked up game two, fueled by a stellar outing by Ethan Peters who tallied his 13^th save of the season. Peters's save places him at the top of the NCAA Division III leaderboard with the most saves in the country.
 
The first game saw a pitchers' duel in the early innings with neither side allowing a run until the Duhawks plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the third innings. Dakota Church led the inning off with a single out into the gap in left center before moving on to second on a wild pitch. With two outs on the side, Max Cullen put runners on the corners on a left field single before he also made his way ahead to second on a wild pitch. Daniel Rogers stepped into the box with two runners in scoring position and smacked a single out into left field, bringing home Church before Cullen was caught trying to score the second run of the inning to close the inning out with the Duhawks taking a 1-0 lead.
 
The score remained unchanged through the fourth inning until the Storm plated a trio of runs in the top of the fifth inning on a pair of RBI singles as their bats came alive to take their first lead of the game.
 
The Duhawks' comeback was gradual but steady in the later stages of the game with the rally sparking in the bottom of the seventh inning as Nick DiBenedetto rifled a shot over the fence in left field to cut the Simpson lead to just one run going into the eighth inning.
 
Simpson found a way to widen their lead once more by four runs in the top of the eighth, scoring three on a pair of hits while taking advantage of the Duhawks' defensive struggles as they committed two errors in the field in the inning. With the score set at 6-2 heading into the bottom half of the inning, Cullen led the inning off with a walk before Joe Egan roped a double into right center to put runners on second and third for DiBenedetto. Keeping his bat hot, the sophomore outfielder lined a ball into the gap in right center for a two-RBI triple to bring the Duhawks back within two. Pardoe put runners on first and third with a walk before Ryan Wohlers brought home DiBenedetto on a sacrifice fly out to right field. The game tied back up at an even 6-6 a batter later as Church put a single out into the outfield to score Pardoe.
 
With Peters on the mound to close out the top of the ninth inning, the senior hurler kept the Storm off the scoreboard to pave the way for the Duhawks to earn their second walk-off victory in under a week's time. Cullen led the inning off with a double into right center before the Storm decided to take a pass on the A-R-C batting average leader in Rogers, calling for an intentional walk before Egan loaded the bases, drawing a walk of his own. With a new pitcher on the mound for Simpson and one out on the side, Pardoe stepped into the box and put a blooper into shallow right field to bring home Cullen and secure the 7-6 win.
 
Matt Jeter got the start on the mound, throwing 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with three strikeouts before fifth-year senior Erik Edminster came in at the top of the sixth. Edminster tossed 3.0 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with two strikeouts before Peters closed out the final inning of the game, striking out three of the four batters he faced to pick up his second win of the season.
 
The Duhawks rifled off 13 hits in the game, led by Pardoe who had a perfect 4-for-4 performance, knocking in the game-winning RBI while being joined by Church who also had a perfect day, going 2-for-2. DiBenedetto led the Duhawks' scoring efforts with three RBIs to his name with a homer and triple in a 2-for-5 day while Cullen, Egan, and Wohlers each knocked a double.
 
Simpson got off to an immediate lead in the second game of the evening, scoring two on a Kolton Arnold homer to left field in the top of the first inning. The Duhawks responded in the bottom half of the inning, however, as Fennelly led the inning off by reaching base on an infielder error before being joined by Max McCallum on the base path, who hit a single through the left side of the infield on a perfectly executed hit and run. Cullen followed by hitting into a fielder's choice that saw Fennelly get tossed out at home trying to score. With runners on the corners, Rogers hit a single up the middle of the infield to bring home McCallum to cut the Storm's lead to one at 2-1.
 
The Duhawks tied the game back up at two a side in the bottom of the second as Wohlers led the inning off by reaching on another Storm error before moving to second on a McCallum single into left field. Cullen took the plate with two runners on and took advantage of the opportunity to bring a runner home, poking a ball out into right center to score Wohlers and tie the game.
 
The Storm grabbed another run back in the top of the third on an RBI double to take the lead again at 3-2, a lead they would go on to hold until the bottom of the fifth inning. In the fifth, the Duhawks' bats heated back up as Rogers hit another single up the middle before being joined on the base path by Egan who hit a single into the right center gap. DiBenedetto then laid down a bunt down the first base line that saw the first baseman field it and sail the ball over the covering man's glove at first, bringing homoe Rogers on the play and putting runners on second and third for Pardoe. A walk saw Pardoe load the bases for Wohlers, who brought home the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly out to left field to bring the score to 4-3.
 
The top of the sixth inning again saw the Storm come back and score on an RBI single through the left side of the infield with two runners on but they were unable to take the lead, tying the game at four each.
 
With the game tied going into the bottom of sixth, Cullen hit a one-out single through the left side of the infield before Rogers roped a double into the outfield to put two in scoring position for Egan, who went on the load the bases after reaching on an error. DiBenedetto followed by hitting into a fielder's choice that saw the Storm get the runner at the plate to keep the Duhawks off the scoreboard for the time-being but keep the bases loaded for Pardoe. A bases-loaded single to left field off the bat of Pardoe saw Rogers and Egan come home to catapult the Duhawks to a 6-4 lead as Pardoe continued to excel offensively for Loras.
 
The bottom of the eight inning saw the Duhawks score another insurance run in the form of another RBI single into the outfield for Pardoe as the Duhawks claimed the No. 2 spot in the A-R-C standings to earn a bye in the first game of the A-R-C Tournament with a 7-4 victory over the Storm to sweep the doubleheader.
 
The Duhawks hit 14 in the second game of the day, again led by Pardoe who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the game while Rogers had a stellar 4-for-5 outing with an RBI of his own. Cullen followed with three hits and an RBI while DiBenedetto and Wohlers added an RBI each.
 
Davis Pasco got the start on the mound and put in 3.0 innings of work, allowing three runs on four hits with three strikeouts before Curtis Lilienthal came in at the fourth inning mark. Lilienthal allowed a run on five hits in his 3.0 innings on the mound, fanning two batters to pave the way for Julian Lopez to pitch the seventh inning. Lopez made quick work of the Storm, allowing only two hits with two strikeouts before Peters made his second appearance of the day, earning his 13^th save of the season, striking out four of the six batters he faced in 2.0 innings on the mound.
 
The Duhawks return to Petrakis Park on Sunday, May 8 as they wrap up the regular season against the Storm in the final game of the three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM in Dubuque, Iowa.