CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Entering the American Rivers Conference Tournament seeking for the program's second-straight tournament championship, the Loras College baseball team opened the first day of the tourney with a split, upsetting the fourth-seeded Spartans of the University of Dubuque, 4-3, before falling to the top seed, Coe College, 6-4.
 
Game One
The first game of the tournament started off in favor of the Duhawks (24-17 overall), as Jackson Cullen hit just his second home run of the season in the first inning to give the Purple and Gold the early 1-0 advantage.

The Duhawks added three runs in the fifth inning, kick started by Cullen's single to right field, scoring Jake Olszewski for his second RBI of the day. Nick DiBenedetto then connected on a two-RBI double down the right field line, scoring Cullen and Max McCallum to extend the lead to 4-0.

Austin Sheldon, who started the game on the mound for the Duhawks, threw scoreless innings through the fifth frame, striking out three over that stretch. It wasn't until the sixth inning that Dubuque (24-17) managed to get a run across, an RBI single that loaded the bases with only one out, resulting in Loras making a switch at the mound to bring in Andrew Krause in relief.

The Spartans added another run in the bottom of the sixth off a bases-loaded walk, but Krasue struck down UD's momentum and stranded three runners on base after getting the Spartans to fly out out and strikeout on back-to-back batters.  

After scoreless seventh and eighth innings, Dubuque found itself in a position to walk off after loading the bases with two outs, but Krause was able to flip a ground ball to first base to end the game.

With a win under their belt, the Duhawks advanced to face the A-R-C's top seeded Coe College Kohawks.
 
Game Two
Loras was able to throw the first punch of the game in the second inning after Jack Carney's single down the left field line scored Cody Sunny. The Duhawks were able to extend their lead to two in the third after Cullen collected his third RBI of the day, with the latest coming via an RBI single up the middle.

The third inning is where things began to fall apart for Loras, as Coe was able to take a 4-2 lead off three walks and an RBI single. The Kohawks would go on to extend the lead to 5-2 in the fifth inning before Loras could respond with two runs in the sixth to trim the deficit to one.

However,  a double down the left field line in the sixth inning by Coe made it a 6-4 game, which is where it would ultimately land.

The Duhawks will now await tonight's results from the Wartburg vs. Buena Vista game to determine what time they will play tomorrow. Check for updates on Duhawks.com or on the Loras Baseball X account.