IOWA CITY, Iowa (Feb. 28, 2023) – The bad news is that the Loras College baseball team couldn't stick with the University of Iowa on Tuesday night at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, but the good news is that this exhibition game won't count against the Duhawks' regular season record.

After upsetting the Hawkeyes in this matchup last year, Loras was unable to do it a second time as they fell 9-2. The Hawkeyes entered at 5-1 on their young season and were riding a hot streak from the weekend before that included a win over No. 1 Louisiana State University in Round Rock, Texas. Due to having already scheduled its maximum number of countable contests, this game was an exhibition for Loras, meaning the stats will not count toward any season or career totals.

Iowa wasted no time in getting in front as it plated three runs in the bottom of the first on a pair of home runs and a double steal. The Hawkeyes added one more in the second to set the pace right out of the gates.

Loras tallied a pair of runs of their own with one in each the fifth and seventh innings, but it wasn't going to be enough as they had to use Tuesday as a bullpen day after playing four games over the weekend to get the season started.

Sophomore centerfielder Max McCallum was the bright spot for Loras as he went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot and added a walk to reach base three of his four times at the plate. McCallum alone accounted for two of Loras' five total hits. In the fifth inning, McCallum's RBI single plated senior second baseman Mitch Gruber and got the Duhawks on the board.

In the seventh inning, the Duhawks took advantage of two walks and two wild pitches from the Hawkeyes that allowed freshman shortstop Alex Sandoval to score, bringing the score back to just a 4-2 Iowa lead.

The Hawkeyes quickly ended any chances of a Loras comeback as they tacked on two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to pull away for a 9-2 win.

The Duhawks will be back to regular action this weekend with a three-game series at Greenville University on Friday-Saturday, March 3-4. The series kicks off with a single game at 3 P.M. on Friday with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11 A.M.