DUBUQUE, Iowa – The woes for Loras continued in the final two midweek contests of the season, as the Purple and Gold dropped a pair to the Norse, 8-4 and 16-6.
Game Two
Like their contest only a week prior, it seemed that both teams were destined for a pitcher's duel, as
Daniel Giusto and Luther's Kaleb Thiesse duked it out through the first four innings, with Luther leading 1-0.
The fifth inning brought all the action, with the Norse collecting four runs on a grand slam in the top half. Down 5-0, the Duhawk bats put their heads down and got to work.
John Cornelius kicked things off by singling into center field, which was followed by an opposite field double from
Jake Olszewski to get runners in scoring position.
Junior shortstop
Alex Sandoval sacrificed an out for a run after he grounded out to second, chipping away at the deficit. Then, doubles from
Max McCallum and
Trevor Segraves pulled the Purple and Gold within two, until
Jackson Cullen scored Segraves on a single to left.
Suddenly, the Duhawks were right back to where they started, down one. Unfortunately for the home team, that would be the last of the scoring.
Casey Kedzierski had a solid final two innings to keep Loras (16-18, 6-12 A-R-C) within striking range, but they would fall short of a comeback, and Luther (14-20, 10-11) would collect three more runs.
Game Three
This time, the Duhawks struck first. The junior Cullen doubled, and
Vince Polizzi would smack a single into left to score him. It was the first time the Purple and Gold had led in any capacity since their 20-9 victory over Simpson on April 12.
But in baseball, no lead is ever safe, and a run one lead is about the farthest thing from that. Luther would find home against
Austin Sheldon, piecing up a couple balls on their way to a 4-1 lead.
Loras wouldn't go away just yet, as
Cody Sunny and
Justin Gutierrez collected a pair of RBI, and now the gap had closed down to 4-3.
But a defensive collapse in the fourth sealed the Duhawks' fate. Luther snagged eight runs and eventually held on to run-rule the Purple and Gold, despite a 4-for-4 performance from Polizzi and a 3-for-3 performance from Gutierrez.
The Bottom Line
This is the first sweep for the Duhawks at the hand of the Norse since 2018, and the first time we've seen Loras get swept three times in a season since 2017.
On Deck: The Purple and Gold are back in action on April 25 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa against Coe College. First pitch for Friday's contest is set for 3:00 p.m.
