CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- In a pair of games at Mount Mercy to open the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament, the Duhawks suffered a tough defeat 12-6 to Simpson College then proceeded to outlast Central College in an 11 inning affair 8-7.
Game one got off to about as good of a start as the Purple and Gold could ask for, with
Jackson Cullen, in the first at-bat of the game, mashing his fifth bomb of the year over the left field wall. Loras (19-20, 12-12 A-R-C) then added two more on a
Jack Carney single up the middle and
Ben Shea sacrifice fly.
With the Duhawks at an advantage, Simpson (24-17, 14-10 A-R-C) plugged away with some hits until eventually breaking through in the third. A five spot aided the Storm to a brief lead until the Purple and Gold yanked the game back in their direction.
Alex Sandoval and
Joey Gumuls scored after an error by the first baseman, and
Vince Polizzi notched another RBI to retake the lead.
Yet, this was similarly short-lived. Simpson unloaded with seven runs in the sixth inning and the Duhawks were left with no answers. That would seal their game one fate and force them into a win or go home scenario.
Central (17-23, 12-12 A-R-C) found life against
Daniel Giusto in the third with a three-run spurt that woke up the Loras bats.
After the outburst against Giusto, the Purple and Gold put up a four spot in the fifth, with
Jake Zeal hitting a ground ball with eyes to score one, Cullen smacking a sacrifice fly, and Polizzi owning clean-up duties with a double to right center.
The back-and-forth battle led the Dutch to score a pair in response in the bottom frame of the same inning.
Fast forward to the seventh, with the Duhawks trailing by one,
Colin Kissane blasted a line drive to left field that stayed in the yard but easily plated one. While Gumuls beat out a potential double play ball to give Loras the lead once more.
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That wasn't quite it, as
Isiah Rose had a clutch RBI single to left in the ninth to give Loras a two-run advantage. They just needed three outs and victory would belong to the Duhawks.
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However, it wouldn't be so simple. Central forced across two runs, tying the game, and had the winning run in scoring position. Luckily the Purple and Gold worked out of it and forced extra innings.
Carson Hammer took over in extras, holding off the Dutch offense, and giving Loras time to take the lead on another Kissane double.
The Purple and Gold would close out the game and live to play another day.
On Deck: Loras faces off against the No. 1 seeded Luther College in another elimination game. First pitch against the Norse is set for 3:00 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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