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Baseball Goes 7-2 at RussMatt Central Florida Invitational

March 16, 2024

By: Brandon Lindholm | Director of Athletic Communications
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Loras College baseball team concluded its annual trip to the Sunshine State to take part in the 2024 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Saturday. The Duhawks completed competition at the invitational with an overall record of 7-2. 
 
GAME ONE – Loras 3, Beloit 1 (7 inn.)
In the first game of a doubleheader match up with Beloit College, Seniors Daniel Rogers, and Nick DiBenedetto each went 2-for-4, while junior outfielder Max McCallum led with two RBIs. T.J. Boyd picked up his second win of the season after throwing 4.1 innings, striking out three and only allowing two hits in the 3-1 victory on March 10.
  • After a scoreless first inning, the Buccaneers got on the board with an RBI single to center field at the bottom of the second.
  • Loras utilized a three-run fourth inning to capture the lead and eventually the win.
  • Cody Sunny reached first on a walk before advancing to second after Jackson Cullen grounded out.
  • A wild pitch allowed Sunny to advance to third, which opened the door to cross home plate after Jack Carney's RBI single through the left side.
  • A moment later, Carney would steal second and advance to third after a single by Alex Sandoval. Beloit's pitcher walked Jake Olszewski at the next at-bat, loading the bases for McCallum.
  • A single through the right side by McCallum would bring home Carney and Sandoval, giving the Duhawks the 3-1 advantage.
 
GAME TWO – Loras 3, Belot 2 (8 inn.)
Sunny and Carney were both 2-for-3 at the plate, while Sunny, Rogers, and designated hitter Jackson Cullen each collected one RBI to lead the Purple and Gold. Austin Sheldon got the starting nod and pitched seven innings, striking out nine and walking only one batter in the 3-2 win in extras.
  • McCallum got the game started with a single before advancing to second on an error by the third baseman.
  • He then was able to advance to third base on a passed ball, which set up Rogers for a sacrifice fly to give Loras the early 1-0 advantage.
  • The Buccaneers struck back with back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth inning to take Beloit's first lead of the game.
  • Sunny knotted things up at the bottom of the sixth when he singled to right, bringing home Rodgers for the RBI.
  • With the game tied at 2-all, the Duhawks and Buccaneers headed to extras following a scoreless seventh inning.
  • Kayden Shivers struck out the side at the top of eighth to put Loras in the driver's seat.
  • With two outs on the board, Carney singled up the middle and stole second to put himself in scoring position. Cullen then hit a walk-off double to left field to close out the game.
 
GAME THREE – Loras 10, Bowdoin 9
Second baseman Diego Huerta had himself a day, recording his first-career three hit game after going 3-for-5 at the plate. The freshman out of Aurora, Ill. recorded one RBI and crossed plate twice in the 10-9 win over Bowdoin College in the first game of a doubleheader on March 11. McCallum, Rogers, and Sunny each recorded two hits, while nine different Duhawks logged an RBI.
  • The Bears started off the game on fire, scoring four runs over the first five innings.
  • Loras, however, would not back down. Huerta recorded his first career RBI after doubling to left field, scoring Sunny to put the Duhawks on the board.
  • Sandoval followed that up with an RBI groundout to short, scoring Cullen to trim the deficit to two.
  • Olszewski lined out to right field on a sac fly, scoring Huerta to bring the Purple and Gold within one.
  • With two outs in the inning, McCallum doubled to right field before scoring after Carney reached on an error by Beloit's first baseman to tie things up, 4-4, after five innings of play.
  • Bowdoin responded with a sac fly to center to retake the lead at the top of the sixth.
  • DiBenedetto grounded out to Beloit's pitcher in the seventh but was able to score Aidan Herrick to tie things back up again at the bottom of the seventh.
  • A three run home  run by Bowdoin shifted things back in favor of the Bears, 8-5, at the top of the eighth.
  • Three runs by the Duhawks at the bottom of the innings knotted things back up. Vince Polizzi recorded an RBI double to right, scoring John Cornelius, before Vince McDowell hit a sac fly to centerfield to score Huerta. McCallum finished off the inning with an RBI single to center, scoring Trevor Segraves to bring things back to an eight-all standstill heading into the ninth.
  • Bowdoin took its final lead of the game off an RBI single to go up 9-8 at the top of the ninth.
  • Loras tied it back up when Cornelius reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Rogers to score from third. Segraves walked off the Duhawks on a bunt, scoring Sunny from third and giving Loras the 10-9 win.
 
GAME FOUR – Loras 10, Bowdoin 2
Due to technical difficulties, stats for this game are unavailable at the moment. The recap will be updated with reflected stats as soon as possible. We apologize for this inconvenience.
 
GAME FIVE – Bethel 4, Loras 2
Rogers and DiBenedetto each went 2-for-4 from the plate to lead Loras, while DiBenedetto led the way with his RBI. Andrew Krause pitched seven innings, striking out six and walking two batters. Aidan O'Hara saw action in the eighth inning, striking out two. Loras' five game win streak was snapped after Bethel won it, 4-2, on Tuesday, March 11.
  • Things were quiet to start, as neither team got on board through the first two innings of play.
  • Bethel opened things up with a two-run third, followed by scoring an additional run in the fourth.
  • Carney got the Duhawks on the board at the top of the sixth when he scored off a wild pitch to trim Loras' deficit (3-1).
  • Facing two outs with a runner on base at the top of the eighth, DiBenedetto doubled to left center, scoring Rogers to bring the Purple and Gold within one (3-2). Bethel would close out the inning after Sunny flew out to center.
  • The Royals added an insurance run at the bottom of the eighth off an error to go up 4-2.
  • Two strikeouts and an unassisted groundout to first base wrapped things up.
 
GAME SIX – Loras 11, Ripon 1 (7 inn.)
Sandoval had three hits in three at-bats to lead the Purple and Gold back on the winning track. The sophomore shortstop was tied for the team lead in runs with two, also finishing with one RBI. Polizzi, Carney, and Sunny shared the team's lead in runs batted in at two apiece. Vincent Costantino earned the start and pitched 4.1 innings, striking out two. Danny Heimer came in as relief in the fourth and pitched 2.2 innings, striking out one against three hits and two walks. The Purple and Gold downed the Red Hawks, 11-1, in seven innings.
  • The Duhawks scored the game's first six runs, started off by Sunny reaching first on an error in the first inning, scoring DiBenedetto.
  • In the second, Carney singled to centerfield, batting into two runs to push Loras up, 3-0.
  • A two-run home run by Polizzi followed by an RBI double from Sandoval broke things open for a 6-0 lead through the first three innings for Loras.
  • Ripon scored its only run of the game in the fifth off an RBI single to left field.
  • Loras got right back to scoring at the bottom of the fifth when Rogers connected on an RBI single to left field, scoring Sandoval, and extending the Duhawk lead, 7-1.
  • Loras scored its final four runs of the game in the seventh to 10-run rule the Red Hawks.
  • With bases loaded, DiBenedetto was hit by a pitch to score Sandoval from third. Sunny then walked, which allowed Carney to score to put the Purple and Gold up, 9-1.
  • A passed ball scored Rogers before McCallum grounded out to first base, scoring DiBenedetto and ending the game.
 
GAME SEVEN – Loras 9, RIT 4
The Duhawks got out to an early lead and never looked back in a 9-4 victory over Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) on Friday, March 15. Cullen, Huerta, McCallum, and Rogers combined for 12 of Loras' 17 hits en route to the victory. Boyd won his third game of the season with a six-inning, nine strikeout performance. O'Hara and Shivers saw action on the mound as well, with O'Hara striking out three.
  • Loras kicked things off with a five-run third inning that started with an RBI double from DiBenedetto, scoring Rogers, for the game's first run.
  • Cullen then singled to left, scoring DiBenedetto for the game's second run.
  • McCallum doubled to left, advancing Cullen to third before a two-RBI single by McDowell put Loras up 4-0.
  • Carney's single to right field scored McDowell to close out the inning.
  • RIT responded with a run in the fourth to make it 5-1, but an RBI from McDowell in the fifth and two runs batted in in the sixth (DiBenedetto – sac fly, McCallum – single) put Loras up 8-1.
  • The Tigers scored a run in the seventh off an RBI single and again by way of a walk in the eighth to make it an 8-3 game.
  • Loras scored its final run at the top of the ninth when Huerta singled to centerfield, scoring Olszewski to make it 9-3.
  • RIT scored the final run of the game at the bottom of the ninth off an error.

GAME EIGHT - Ohio Northern University 3, Loras 0
The Duhawks struggled to muster much offense in the first game of a doubleheader against the Polar Bears, managing to only record two hits against Ohio Northern's Jack Hutchins, who threw seven scoreless innings. Carney and McCallum were responsible for Loras' hits, each going 1-for-3. Austin Sheldon pitched six innings, striking out six. 
  • Ohio Northern got on the board in the fourth inning with a double to right field, scoring a single runner. 
  • The Polar Bears' last score of the game was off a two-run home run in the fifth inning. 

GAME NINE - Loras 9, Ohio Northern University 3
The second half of the doubleheader saw Loras flip the switch offensively, as the Purple and Gold were able to rattle off six hits, scoring nine runs. The Duhawks closed out the RussMatt Invitational with a 9-3 win over Ohio Northern on March 16. Rogers led the way with three hits, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored. Sunny was 2-for-4 at the plate, batting in three runners. 
  • Ohio Northern got things started with two runs in the first inning to take the early lead. 
  • Loras responded with an RBI single from DiBenedetto at the bottom of the first, before rattling off three runs in the second inning. 
  • The second inning's scoring started when Huerta singled through the right side, scoring McCallum to knot things up at two-all. 
  • Carney hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Gutierrez to take Loras' first lead of the game (3-2). 
  • Rogers closed out the second inning with a single to right field, scoring Huerta to extend the Purple and Gold's lead, 4-2. 
  • The Polar Bears answered back with a score off a fielder's choice in the fourth to bring it within one (4-3). 
  • Loras would then go on to score the final five scores of the game over the following two innings. 
  • Sunny's single up the middle scored Rogers at the bottom of the fifth to give the Duhawk a 5-3 lead. 
  • Olszewski kicked off a four-run sixth inning by scoring off an error from Ohio Northern's catcher. 
  • Rogers connected on an RBI single to left, scoring Carney, before Sunny singled to right field, scoring two and closing out the day's scoring. 

The Duhawks will return home to Dubuque and ready for its home and conference opener against Nebraska Wesleyan University. The three-game series is slated to kick off on Friday, March 22 at 6 p.m. at Petrakis Park. Saturday's doubleheader will commence at 12 p.m.