LINCOLN, Neb. (April 29, 2023) – Loras College softball earned yet another split on Saturday and remained an even .500 in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play after its most recent showdown with Nebraska Wesleyan University.

The Duhawks (18-13, 6-6 A-R-C) took game one by a 3-2 final but fell 4-0 in the second game to the Prairie Wolves (21-17, 6-10 A-R-C).

Loras 3, NWU 2
The Duhawks opened the scoring in the top of the first of game one as a two-out double for senior Grace Houghton kept the inning alive for junior Alyssa Hughes. Hughes delivered with an RBI single up the middle to score Houghton and put the Duhawks ahead early.

Loras sophomore starter Ashlyn Hemm pitched a pair of clean innings to start the day but ran into trouble in the third as the Prairie Wolves took the lead on a two-run home run by Emma Alfieri, giving her a homer in each of Nebraska Wesleyan's last three series.

With their opportunities fading, the Duhawks took advantage of a Nebraska Wesleyan error in the fifth inning as pinch-hitter Olivia Martinelli hit a hard grounder to third and forced the mistake, allowing sophomore Whitney Leipold and Houghton to score and put Loras ahead 3-2.

That turned out to be all the Duhawks needed as Hemm retired nine of the next 10 batters she faced to finish off the game. Hemm earned her ninth win of the season by allowing just three hits and two earned runs while striking out eight batters and walking only one.

NWU 4, Loras 0
Loras couldn't get the bats going in game two as the Prairie Wolves' starter Elise Warneke limited the Duhawks to just two hits across seven innings.

On the flip side, the Prairie Wolves scored all four of their runs in the fourth inning as they sent nine batters to the plate in that frame. A two-run single for pinch-hitter Emily Swoboda opened the scoring and pushed Loras starter Shandi Rulli from the game in favor of Hemm, but the Prairie Wolves tallied two more RBI knocks in the frame to take a 4-0 lead.

That one inning of offense turned out to be enough as four of the Prairie Wolves' six hits came in that inning.

Loras has two more conference series remaining, starting with a doubleheader against the University of Dubuque on Wednesday, May 3 at 2 P.M.