DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College softball team won two exciting games on their way to a sweep over the Cornell College Rams on Saturday at Faber-Clark Field.
Game One: Loras 13, Cornell College 1 F/5
Loras (13-8 Overall, 1-1 A-R-C) set the tone early in game one with a 10-run opening frame.
Ava Franklin got the scoring started with her two-run home run just two batters into the game.
Morgan Machovec provided another run with her RBI base hit that plated
Karlee Berge, who reached base with a hit.
Clare Murphy provided another RBI for the Purple and Gold before
Whitney Leipold gave Loras a 6-0 lead thanks to her two RBI base hit. After a Duhawk groundout, Franklin tallied her third and fourth RBI of the inning with a bases clearing double that brought
Emily Monahan and Leipold across home plate.
Dana Skorich capped of the 10-run frame with first home run of the season.
The Duhawks would go scoreless until the fourth inning, an inning where they pushed three more runs across thanks to another Skorich home run, and RBIs from Monahan and
Katherine Svigelj.
Shandi Rulli was dominate in the circle for Loras. The senior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa took a no-hitter into the top of the fifth inning before Kloi Barney provided the Rams with their first hit. Rulli threw a complete game, allowing two hits, one run, while striking out four, en route to her second win of the year.
Game Two: Loras 6, Cornell College 5 F/9
Game two between these two teams was an extra inning thriller, with both teams knotted at three after seven innings.
After a scorless first frame, Monahan continued her successful day at the plate with another RBI base hit that scored Machovec in the top of the second. In the third, Skorich homered for the third time of the day to give the Loras (14-8, 1-1) a 2-0 lead. Murphy gave the Purple and Gold their final run in regulation with an RBI double.
In the sixth inning, the Rams (8-9, 0-0) took advantage of three walks and timely hits to tie the game at three.
The Duhawks were able to load the bases in the bottom of the eight, but a defensive stand by the Rams held Loras to a scoreless frame. The following half inning, Cornell used a home run of their own to take a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
In the ninth inning, Monahan tripled to right center to score Machovec, who was placed on second to start the inning. The following at bat, Leipold provided a SAC fly to tie the game at five. Then, after a Svigelj single, Franklin singled up the middle, allowing Svigelj to score on an error and walk-off the second game of the doubleheader.
Up Next: Loras will return to American Rivers Conference play when they take on Luther College on April 2. First pitch from Faber-Clark Field is scheduled for 2 PM.
