LINCOLN, Neb. (April 15, 2023) – Loras College baseball got off to a hot start on Saturday, and it's a good thing it did as the Duhawks came away with a 7-5 win over Nebraska Wesleyan University in a five-inning, rain-shortened final game of the weekend series.

After taking both games on Friday, the Duhawks (19-10, 10-4 A-R-C) won their seventh straight American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) game on Saturday after a six-run first inning proved to be enough to beat the Prairie Wolves (12-19, 4-13 A-R-C) and the rain in Nebraska.

Only two Duhawk hits plated the six first-inning runs as Loras advantage of three walks and one NWU error in the inning. Despite only having two hits, one of them was a massive blow as sophomore Jack Carney belted a three-run homer, the first of his collegiate career, to right field to cap off the big first frame.

Three hits plated three runs for Nebraska Wesleyan in the bottom of the second inning to cut the deficit in half, which is where the score remained until the fifth inning when three hits and a sacrifice bunt led to an insurance run for the Duhawks. Senior Tyler Pransky delivered the RBI knock that plated junior Daniel Rogers.

That insurance run proved pivotal as the Prairie Wolves threatened again in the bottom of the frame as one hit and three free passes made things difficult on Duhawk starter Ryan Wohlers. With one out and the bases loaded, graduate closer Ethan Peters came on to minimize the damage, and did so as a sacrifice fly cut the lead to 7-5 before a strikeout ended the threat.

With the rain fast approaching, the teams knew that the fifth inning could decide the game, and that ultimately turned out to be the case as play could not continue once the rain started.

The Duhawks are back at home on Tuesday, April 18 against the University of Dubuque for the final game of the season series at 6 P.M.