WAVERLY, Iowa – The Loras College softball team had its historic tournament run come to a close Saturday afternoon at Lynes Field in Waverly. The Duhawks reached the semifinals for the first time since 2017, and was the first team in program history to reach the championship game.
Semifinal: Loras 9, #23 Wartburg College 4
Runs came in bunches for Loras, platting four runs in the first and fourth innings, with an insurance run in the seventh.
In the first,
Katherine Svigelj doubled to left to leaf off the game before a SAC bunt from
Ava Franklin advanced her to third.
Kaili Henning, who got the start for Loras, helped herself out with a RBI base hit for the first run of the game. After
Kiya Steger was hit by a pitch, and
Dana Skorich singled,
Laurissa Klapatauskas gave Loras another run with her base hit to score Henning. The last two runs for the Purple and Gold came via a
Gillian Jones hit by pitch, and a Knight error.
The Duhawks batted around once again in the fourth. Franklin gave Loras a five-run lead after her RBI base hit before Steger lined a two RBI double two batters later. Jones ended the inning with a RBI single of her own to take a commanding 8-0 lead.
Wartburg used the long ball to inch their way back into the game. After being shutout for three innings, Bella Mulder put the home team on the board with a two-run homer to center field. A inning later, Katelyn Klever got in on the action with a solo shot of her own to cut the Loras lead in half.
Both teams would remain scoreless until Svigelj gave Loras one more insurance run with her RBI double that platted
Ellie Baker.
The win put Loras into the American Rivers Conference championship game for the first time in program history.
Championship: Loras 1, #10 Simpson College 6
The Storm, also playing for their first ever automatic qualifier bid, used a four run second inning that proved to be the difference.
Simpson had only one earned run in the inning, a RBI single from Caelynn Obleton. The other three runs came thanks to two Duhawk errors in the frame.
Loras' only run of the game came from a SAC fly from Franklin in the sixth inning that scored Svigelj, who tripled to lead off the inning.
The Duhawks were unable to mount a seventh inning comeback and fell 6-1.
Up Next: Loras will now require an at-large bid to reach the NCAA National Tournament. The selection show will be on Monday, May 11, at 10 a.m.
