DUBUQUE, Iowa – Loras' luck didn't change on Saturday, as Buena Vista continued to find ways to win, and eventually swept the series with 7-0 and 16-5 victories.

Game Two
Little happened for either squad in the first few innings of action, however the third would prove to be detrimental for the Purple and Gold as Buena Vista University (18-5, 10-1 A-R-C) would push across four runs. The Duhawks did themselves no favors in the third either, with a pair of those runs crossing due to multiple errors by the Purple and Gold.

Buena Vista's Mark Eddie was key in keeping the Duhawks off the scoreboard. Eddie would go six innings, allowing seven hits and no earned runs. The bullpen for the Beavers would come in and shut things down, but not before the visitors were able to find three more runs.

For Loras (14-11, 4-6), Jackson Cullen, Cody Sunny, and Justin Gutierrez led the way offensively, each going two-for-four at the dish, but it wasn't enough. The Duhawks were unable to find the timely hit they so desperately needed, despite one big spot in the sixth inning. Alex Sandoval smacked a line drive into right field with sophomore Colin Kissane at second, but the opportunity was spoiled by a wonderful throw from the Beavers' right fielder Brandon Jenkins, allowing Buena Vista catcher Conor Zegar to tag out Kissane.

Will Moonan and Danny Hiemer would aid Loras in keeping the game within reach, only allowing a combined one run over their four innings of work, but it was to no avail. The Duhawks would be shut out in a conference game for the first time since 2021.

Game Three
The third game saw Loras put up runs in three of the first four innings, starting in the bottom of the first. Senior Max McCallum saw one pitch and sent it the other way for a lead off double, which allowed for Jackson Cullen to launch a line drive into the outfield to score McCallum.

In the second, with the score at 2-1 favoring the Beavers, the Purple and Gold began with a leadoff single from Colin Kissane. Kissane eventually found himself on third with two outs, and with McCallum at the plate, a wild pitch snuck past Buena Vista, allowing Loras to even things up.

Back and forth both teams went, with the Beavers pushing across one in the top half of the third, and the Duhawks responding with one of their own in the home frame, thanks to a Kissane single that scored Sunny.

Unfortunately, the next two innings after that were dominated by Buena Vista, with a combined ten runs scoring, eight of which found home in the fifth.

A Duhawk arms carousel came in to stop the bleeding, but ultimately the Beavers overpowered the Purple and Gold, taking the game in eight innings and sweeping Loras, a feat no one in conference play has accomplished since 2019.

Learn, Grow, and Move On
Unfortunately, a sweep at the hands of Buena Vista has given a lot of firsts to the Loras program, but this is a team that has proven it can bounce back under 29^th year head coach Carl Tebon.

The last time the Duhawks had a losing record in conference play, which was when they were 3-4 in early 2023, they answered with a nine-game conference winning streak and eventually went on to win the A-R-C tournament for the first time in school history.

Similarly, this year's team was swept once before at the hands of Westminster College and responded by winning nine of their next ten games.

On Deck: The bounce back opportunity begins on Tuesday, April 8 at Dan W. Runkle field in Dubuque, Iowa as the Duhawks face the Spartans of the University of Dubuque in the final two games of their series. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.