PEORIA, Ill. – The first four games for the Loras College softball team were at the Blue Angel Invite in the Louisville Slugger Dome in Peoria, Ill. They split on their 2024 opening weekend.
The Duhawks (2-2) split Thursday as they won game one against Mount Mary University 10-2, before dropping game two to Augustana College 2-1. On Friday, the Duhawks experienced a similar fate, defeating Edgewood College 5-0, before falling to UW-Stevens Point 2-1.
Loras 10, Mount Mary University 2
The Duhawks gave both runs up in the top of the third inning but held the Blue Angels scoreless for the rest of the game. The Duhawks then scored 10 unanswered runs en route to their first victory of the season. Senior Alyssa Huges and juniors Payton Meier and Morgan Machovec each recorded two hits in just three at bats, while also crossing home at least once.
In the sixth inning, the Duhawks brought in five more runs, allowing the game to end one inning early. They got everyone on and everyone in that inning. Sophomore Rachel Peat was the winning pitcher this game, throwing four innings with three strikeouts and only allowing one hit. In the first outing of her college career, Freshmen Katie Svigelj threw the final two innings, only allowing two hits and no runs given up.
Augustana 2, Loras 1
At the first at-bat of the game, Meier hit her first homerun of the season to put the Duhawks up 1-0. They were able to hold the Vikings scoreless until the fifth inning. Junior Ashlyn Hemm came into pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning and with her first strikeout of the season, she broke the individual career strikeout record. The Duhawks would fall to a perfectly executed squeeze play by the Vikings, 2-1.
Loras 5, Edgewood 0
This was a great team win to start day two of the weekend for the Duhawks. They were able to get up right away in the second inning. Junior Emily Monahan went 4- for-4 with a stolen base and was batted in the three times she was on base. Sophomore Ava Franklin had herself a day going 3-for-3 with an RBI to put the Duhawks up 2-0 in the fourth.
The Duhawks had no errors to back up Hemm on the mound, who totaled nine strikeouts. Hughes tallied two RBIs, while junior Whitney Leipold and sophomore Gillian Jones finished with one RBI apiece.
UW-Stevens Point 2, Loras 1
UW-Stevens Point took the lead in the first inning and then in the top of the fifth strung together a few good bats to score another. The Duhawks responded in the bottom of the fifth with an SAC bunt from junior Olivia Martinelli that scored Franklin all the way over from first. Junior Shandi Rulli threw the full seven innings for the Duhawks only allowing three hits and eight strikeouts.
Up Next: Loras heads to Oshkosh, Wis. next weekend to play two games against UW-Oshkosh and Beloit College at 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
