May 6, 2023 – The final weekend series of the 2023 regular season didn't exactly go the way the Loras College baseball team wanted it to, but the Duhawks salvaged a little momentum with a walk-off home run in game three from junior
Nick DiBenedetto.
The Duhawks (25-15, 15-9 A-R-C) suffered a pair of lopsided losses to the Kohawks (22-15, 14-10 A-R-C) to start the series, but they got a much-needed boost with the 6-5 win in game three as they head off to the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament later next week.
After a 10-5 victory for Coe in game one on Friday, the Kohawks jumped out to a massive 15-1 lead in the second game of the series before heavy rains forced the game to be restarted on Saturday, with the Kohawks going on to win 20-2.
Game three looked like it was going to be all about the Kohawks again as they plated two runs in the top of the first and two more in the top of the second. With their backs against the walls again, the Duhawks flipped things around in the bottom of the second as they plated two runs of their own on a two-run homer for sophomore
Max McCallum.
Loras evened the score in the third inning with two more runs, starting with a leadoff opposite field homer for junior
Daniel Rogers. Later in the frame, DiBenedetto singled home freshman
Cody Sunny to knot the score at 4-4 and make it a new ballgame.
The Duhawks snagged a lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as senior
Tyler Pransky singled home freshman
Jackson Cullen, who started the inning with a walk as a pinch-hitter. That lead lasted until the seventh inning when a leadoff double for Coe led to an RBI single to make it 5-5.
Loras had a chance to take the lead in the eighth, but the Duhawks stranded two runners in scoring position to head to the ninth. Loras senior reliever
Ethan Peters pitched around a single in the top of the ninth to keep the score tied, setting up for DiBenedetto's heroics in the bottom half to send the Duhawks into the postseason with a walk-off winner.
As it stands, Loras will likely be the No. 3 seed in next week's A-R-C Tournament, meaning it would play the tournament's first game at 11 A.M. on Thursday, May 11, versus the No. 6 seed at Mount Mercy University. The official schedule will be finalized by the conference office on Sunday.
