March 28, 2023 – Loras College's baseball team took the field at Petrakis Park for the first time this season on Tuesday afternoon as the Duhawks split a pair of American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) games with Simpson College.

The Duhawks (12-7, 3-2 A-R-C) stumbled 12-2 in just seven innings in game one but responded with an 11-5 victory over the Storm (11-7, 1-1 A-R-C) in the nightcap.

Simpson 12, Loras 2 (F/7)
The Storm only scored in two innings in game one, but when they did they did so in bunches as they plated six runs in each the second and fifth innings to run away with a win in their first conference game of 2023.

In the second inning, Simpson tallied six runs on four hits and three free passes as they chased Loras starter Cameron Nohos from the game. Brady Held delivered the biggest blow in the form of a three-RBI double. In the bottom half, the Duhawks responded with one run as senior Mitch Gruber reached on an error that allowed freshman Cody Sunny to score from third.

It was déjà vu in the fifth inning as the Storm again hung a six-spot on the scoreboard with six hits and a pair of Loras errors to help the cause. Only two of the six runs in the inning wound up being earned.

Loras got another one back in the bottom half on an RBI double from senior Max Cullen, but it wasn't enough to crawl out of a 10-run hole.

Loras 11, Simpson 5
Loras made sure to secure at least one win in the home opener as senior starter Matt Jeter gave his team a chance with three scoreless frames to start the game. During that time, the Duhawks jumped out to an early lead as senior Tyler Pranksy smacked a two-RBI single in the first inning with two outs and the bases loaded.

In the third, a triple for junior Nick DiBenedetto plated freshman Michael Ray to run the score to 3-0, but it was the fourth inning that saw the floodgates open for the Duhawks. Seven runs came home by way of just three hits and six walks in the frame as senior Dakota Church capped the big inning with a two-RBI single to push the lead to 10-1.

The Storm had just tallied their first run of the game with a solo home run in the top of the fourth, and managed to add two more to the tally in the fifth. That would be the end of the line for Jeter as he went 5.0 innings and allowed just two earned runs and seven hits to eventually earn the win.

Loras added its 11^th run of the game in the sixth after DiBenedetto's leadoff triple – his second of the game – set him up to score on Gruber's RBI single just two batters later. Despite a two-run eighth inning from the Storm, there was plenty of insurance for the Duhawks as they held serve for an 11-5 win.

The Duhawks stay home for a weekend series with Buena Vista University that begins with a single game at 6 P.M. on Friday, March 31.