WAVERLY, Iowa (April 25, 2023) – A pair of strong pitching performances highlighted a well-contested doubleheader for the Loras College softball team on Tuesday afternoon as the Duhawks split with Wartburg College on the road.

The Duhawks (17-12, 5-5 A-R-C) got the 4-0 win in game one behind a shutout from sophomore starter Ashlyn Hemm, but the Knights (16-14, 6-4 A-R-C) flipped the script for an 8-0 win in game two.

Loras 4, Wartburg 0
Hemm pitched her seventh straight complete game on Tuesday to lead the Duhawks to a victory in game one. Hemm even got to toe the rubber with a lead already in hand in this one as Loras started the scoring in the top of the first inning when senior Grace Houghton drove in senior Abby Jones with the help of a throwing error.

That lone run in the first was the only run scored in the first five innings as Hemm faced just three over the minimum in that time. Loras opened up the lead in a big way in the top of the sixth inning when a walk from Houghton and a single for junior Alyssa Hughes set the table for sophomore Emily Monahan, who belted a three-run homer to left field to extend the Loras lead to 4-0.

Monahan's second blast of the year gave Hemm plenty of insurance as she finished off her eighth win of the season by allowing only three hits and striking out nine Knights hitters.

Wartburg 8, Loras 0
The first hit of game two didn't come until the bottom of the third inning, but that one-out single for Wartburg's Sydney Illg opened the floodgates for the Knights. Illg's single was followed by a walk, a single, and a three-run homer for Lauren Frerichs that suddenly sent Wartburg out to a 4-0 lead.

After a solo home run from Tara Wehde in the fourth inning, the Duhawks subbed freshman Rachel Peat in for sophomore Shandi Rulli, but the Knights bats weren't done cooling off as they added two more in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the sixth to walk it off via run rule.

The Duhawks had their chances in game two, but stranded six runners on base as Wartburg starter Avery Mull finished the shutout with a six-inning complete game.

Loras is on the road again this weekend when it faces Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Neb. on Saturday, April 29. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 P.M.