CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (May 11, 2023) – Not only did the Loras College baseball team start the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament with back-to-back wins, but it did so in dominating fashion with a 15-5 (F/8) win over sixth-seeded Wartburg College and a 13-3 win over second-seeded Luther College.

The third-seeded Duhawks (27-15) put the hurt on their two opening day opponents as they started with a resounding win over the Knights at Mount Mercy University before moving over to Veterans Memorial Stadium to take down the Norse. Loras will move on to play Friday, May 12, at 12 P.M. versus top-seeded Buena Vista University.

Loras 15, Wartburg 5 (F/8)
While the Duhawks poured it on late, they found themselves trailing early on in their first game of the weekend as Wartburg outpaced them 2-1 through the first three and a half innings. That was until a six-run fourth inning blew things open and sparked an eventual Duhawk rout.

The scoring started with back-to-back bases-loaded walks from seniors Tyler Pransky and Ryan Wohlers that put Loras ahead 3-2 before the floodgates really opened up as a suicide squeeze attempt from senior Mitch Gruber forced a throwing error that allowed three runs to score and extend the lead to 6-2.

Later in the frame, an RBI double for senior Dakota Church made it 7-2 as the offense kept things rolling into the eighth inning. The Duhawks came into the bottom half with a 10-5 lead and decided to finish this one off early as four hits, including a two-RBI single from senior Max Cullen and a game-ending RBI double from sophomore Max McCallum gave the Duhawks a 10-5 mercy rule victory.

Six of Loras' nine starters tallied multi-hit games to back up senior starter Davis Pasco, who earned his fifth win of the year by tossing 6.2 innings and allowing only four earned runs. He registered only one strikeout while his defense stayed error-free behind him, something the Loras defense accomplished in both games on Thursday.

Loras 13, Luther 3
Just as it happened in game one, the opposition scored first against the Duhawks in game two as a solo home run from Luther's Joshua Matanich put the Norse up 1-0 in the second inning. That lead wouldn't last as the Duhawks responded right back with a three-spot to start the third inning. After a wild pitch allowed the first run to trot home, a bases-loaded sacrifice fly for freshman Cody Sunny gave the Duhawks a 2-1 lead ahead of an RBI, bases-loaded walk from Pransky.

The Duhawks didn't look back after that point as the bats kept moving in the fifth inning when back-to-back doubles from juniors Daniel Rogers and Nick DiBenedetto kick-started another three-run frame that included another RBI walk, this one from freshman Jackson Cullen, and a sacrifice fly from Gruber.

While the Loras offense built a 6-1 lead, Wohlers was settling in on the mound after allowing the second-inning homer. The senior starter kept the Norse in check until finding some trouble in the sixth inning when he gave way to senior reliever Ethan Peters with a pair of runners on base. Both runs eventually came around to give Wohlers a final line of 5.1 innings pitched, three earned runs, seven hits allowed, and four strikeouts.

Thanks to Peters shutting the door on the Norse for the remaining 3.2 innings, Wohlers' line was enough for his fourth win of the year as the offense kept adding on. Seven Loras runs across the eighth and ninth innings were highlighted by a two-run homer for DiBenedetto and a three-run shot for Rogers that pushed Loras to a second 10-run win to start the conference tournament.

Loras and Buena Vista, which defeated the University of Dubuque on Thursday, will face off at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 12 P.M. on Friday to start day two of the A-R-C Tournament.