CHICAGO, Ill. (March 27, 2023) – After delaying its trip to Chicago until Sunday due to snow, the Loras College softball team split a pair of games on Sunday at the North Park University Invite.

The Duhawks (10-5) powered their way past the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a 9-1 win in the opener but fell 9-1 to North Park in game two.

Loras 9, UW-River Falls 1 (F/6)
The Duhawks shortened this game to just six innings by way of the mercy rule as they scored in all six innings to beat the Falcons 9-1. Loras totaled 17 hits with three coming in the first inning as senior Jadyn Anderson notched an RBI on a bunt single.

In the second inning, four more hits helped produce a three-run frame that served as the highest-scoring inning for the Duhawks on the weekend. Sophomore Morgan Machovec and senior Grace Houghton tallied RBIs in the inning to increase the lead to 4-0.

After notching one run in each the third, fourth, and fifth innings, the Duhawks finished things off with two more runs in the sixth as sophomore Emily Monahan's RBI single made it 8-1 before sophomore Olivia Martinelli notched a walk-off RBI single to center field to end the game.

From the eighth spot in the batting order, Martinelli went 3-for-4 in the game with two doubles and three RBIs to lead the way offensively. Sophomore starter Ashlyn Hemm was strong yet again as she tossed 5.0 innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits to earn the win.

North Park 9, Loras 1 (F/5)
The second game was a reverse of the first for Loras as the hosting Vikings scored three runs in the first frame to put things out of reach right from the jump. Four hits in the first inning, plus a Duhawk error, helped get the Vikings started against Loras' freshman starter Rachel Peat.

Peat surrendered six total runs and five earned runs in her three innings of work as North Park took a 6-1 lead into the fifth. Loras' lone run of this game came in the top of the fourth inning as Houghton plated senior Abby Jones with an RBI single after Jones laced a one-out double.

The Vikings plated three runs on a pair of hits and a Loras throwing error in the fifth inning to reach the run-rule threshold and finish this one off in five innings.

Loras' next games will be this Saturday, April 1, in the home opener against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The doubleheader at Clark-Faber Field is scheduled to begin at 12 P.M.