STEVENS POINT, Wis. (May 20, 2023) — A three-run eighth inning gave the Loras College baseball team some late life in its elimination game on Saturday morning, but the Duhawks ultimately fell 5-4 to No. 17 Augustana College to finish the 2023 season in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
The Duhawks (28-17) are eliminated from their first ever NCAA Regional following the loss to the Vikings (39-8), who survived the elimination game by capturing their 39th win of the season to set a new program record.
Head coach Carl Tebon's team looked more like its old self after a lopsided 15-0 loss to (RV) Webster University the day before in their first game at the Stevens Point Regional. On Saturday morning, Loras outhit Augustana 10-8 and had significantly more energy in the dugout that it did the day prior.
The Duhawks got on the board first and played the program's first ever NCAA Tournament run in the top of the fourth inning as back-to-back two-out hits, a double for junior Daniel Rogers and an RBI triple for junior Nick DiBenedetto, gave Loras a 1-0 lead.
Augustana responded with a single run in the bottom of the fourth to tie it, then took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning after a wild pitch allowed a run to score from third.
Loras freshman starert Max Vaisvila battled hard to get through his 5.0+ innings of work, and ultimately gave way to senior Ethan Peters in the sixth inning. Peter's inherited a bases loaded, no-out jam and couldn't keep the Vikings off the board as three runs came home to extend the lead to 5-1. Vaisvila would get the loss after allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits while he struck out five.
Peter's tossed three innings in relief and gave his team a chance to stay in it as he gave up only one hit and zero runs charged to his line while tallying four strikeouts. Loras took advantage of its chance in the top of the eighth inning with three-runs to cut the deficit to one.
Sophomore Max McCallum started the inning with a solo homer to right field, his sixth of the year and his 69th base hit of the season, which is now the program record. McCallum started a string of three-straight hits that led up to a two-RBI single for senior Max Cullen that brought the score to 5-4. Senior Tyler Pransky nearly put the Duhawks up with a line-out to short before freshman pinch-hitter Jackson Cullen popped up with the bases loaded to end the threat.
Outside of a leadoff walk, the Duhawks didn't get much going in the ninth as they fell just shy of the program's first ever national tournament win after getting into the field by way of the program's first ever American Rivers Tournament (A-R-C) Tournament Championship.
