STEVENS POINT, Wis. (May 19, 2023) – The long-awaited NCAA Division III National Tournament debut for Loras College baseball didn't go as planned on Friday afternoon as the Duhawks fell 15-0 to (RV) Webster University in their first game of the Stevens Point Regional.

The Duhawks (29-16) came in red-hot after a 4-0 run through the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament earned them an automatic berth in the tournament field, but the Gorloks (31-14) put their offensive prowess on display to end Loras' five-game winning streak.

Webster came into the regional with 55 home runs in 2023, and it added four more to its tally to power its way to an opening-round victory.

The Gorloks tallied one in the bottom of the first inning as R.J. LaRocco belted a solo home run off of Loras starter Davis Pasco. That homer for LaRocco turned out to be the first of four for him as he went on to add a single, double, and a triple to hit for the cycle and tally four RBIs. Webster added two more in the second inning before blowing things open with four runs in the fifth inning and six runs in the seventh inning.

Loras' bats were mostly dormant against Webster starter Ben Kowalski despite sophomore Max McCallum leading off the game with a scolding line drive that hit Kowalski in his non-throwing arm. After the scary play just moments into the game, Kowalski rebounded and allowed just three hits across his seven innings of work while striking out seven Duhawk batters to earn the win.

Loras will face No. 17 Augustana College on Saturday, May 20 in an elimination game at 8:30 A.M. Webster will face No. 15 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which beat Augustana on Friday afternoon, in the winner's bracket at 12 P.M.