April 11, 2023 – Softball weather blessed the fans and teams at Faber-Clark Field on beautiful Tuesday afternoon as the Loras College softball team split its American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) opener with No. 24 Luther College.

The Duhawks (13-8, 1-1 A-R-C) were downed 6-2 in the first leg of Tuesday's doubleheader but got a huge performance from sophomore pitcher Ashlyn Hemm as she helped lead the 4-2 win over the Norse (22-4, 3-1 A-R-C).

Luther 6, Loras 2
Luther wasted no time in getting ahead early in game one as the Norse belted two home runs in the frame to take a 3-0 lead on Duhawk starter Shandi Rulli. An error for Loras to start the inning led to two of Luther's three runs being unearned.

The Duhawks got one back in the bottom of the first on an RBI single for junior Alyssa Hughes, and then the game went scoreless until the fifth when the team's traded single-run innings. After another unearned run for the Norse, Duhawk senior Whitney Leipold laced an RBI single to left centerfield to score the pinch runner Olivia Martinelli to keep the score at 4-2.

A leadoff homer for the Norse got their seventh inning started on the right track as they went on to plate two total runs in the inning to make it a little easier on themselves as they earned a 6-2 win.

Loras 4, Luther 2
Things got started early in game two as well as the Norse created some issues for Hemm in the top of the second inning. Despite no hits, the Norse used an error and three walks to plate the game's first run and take a 1-0 lead.

The Duhawks got that run back in the bottom half when sophomore Clare Murphy laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to score pinch runner Zoe Espiridon from third base. That run gave the Duhawks some momentum as they took a commanding 4-1 lead with three runs in the bottom of the third.

A two-out single for senior Abby Jones kept the third inning alive for Loras and led to an RBI single for senior Grace Houghton in the next at bat. Hughes took advantage of the opportunity and followed that up with a towering two-run home run to right center field.

While 4-1 doesn't seem like an overly comfortable lead, that was enough for Duhawks with Hemm in the circle as she cruised through the middle part of the game, facing just one over the minimum across innings 3-6. Despite that success, the Norse made sure to make it interesting in the seventh.

Three of the first four Norse batters singled in the seventh inning as they drew things back to 4-2. Luther would go on to load the bases with two outs, but Hemm got Riley Sauser to fly out to centerfield to get out of the jam and finish off the first conference win of the season for the Duhawks.

Hemm's complete-game effort earned her the win to move to 5-3 on the year.

Loras is on the road for another conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 15 at Buena Vista University with games starting at 1 P.M. and 3 P.M.