Sports

The Lorian

April 10, 2014

11

Junior pitcher
Holly Kline
winds up for
a pitch during
the Duhawks
win over
UW-Platteville
last Thursday.
Klein leads the
Duhawks and is
tied for fifth in the
conference with
a 7-5 record on
the season.
photo by KATHERINE EDWARDS

photo by KATHERINE EDWARDS

Sophomore Makaila Haase celebrates with her teammates after hitting a home run during the Duhawks 9-6
win over UW-Platteville.

Duhawks still searching for first conference win

Loras sweeps UW-Platteville, gets
swept by Buena Vista, remains
even at 12-12 on the season
by BOO WOOD | sportswriter

After breaking even at 2-2 last week, the

Duhawks record remains even at 12-12 for
the season.
On Thursday, the Duhawks took on the
Pioneers of UW-Platteville in a double-header. Loras amassed an astounding 21 hits and
16 runs en route to a non-conference sweep.
The Duhawks were lead by junior Katie Serpico who went 6-8 at the plate with 6 RBIs,
which included a three run home run.
The Duhawks came out strong in game
one with a two-run double by first-year Danielle Stromert. Stromert would reach home
on a single to center field by sophomore
Kali Koopmann. In the third, Katie Serpico
would double and bring in two Duhawks to
extend the lead to three. Junior pitcher Holly Klein was lights-out through four, before
giving up a solo home run in the fifth, which
broke up the shutout.
Loras would respond in the bottom of
the fifth with a two-run home run by sophomore Makaila Haase; her fourth home run
of the season. After surrendering another
run in the top of the sixth, the Duhawks put
up a four run inning to close the sixth. With
runners on first and second, Serpico would
blast her sixth home run of the year and
send the Duhawks to the seventh with a 9-2
lead. First-year Erin Hosch would earn her
first save on the season as the Duhawks took
game one 9-6.
In game two, the Duhawks got on the

board first in the second inning as sophomore Maddie Bare came around to score
after a ground-out RBI by sophomore Samantha Shindelar in the second. The Duhawk lead wouldnt last long, as Platteville
responded in the top of the third with two
runs of their own. The score would remain
2-1 until the fifth when the Duhawks surrendered another three runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, the bats came
to life as Serpico and Haase each hit RBI
singles to cut the lead to two. At the top
of the sixth, Platteville would stretch the
lead to three after a solo home run off. In
the second half of the inning, Bare would
put the Duhawks up on the board again
with a RBI double. A towering bomb by
Shindelar over the center field wall evened
the game at six. In the bottom of the seventh, with the game on the line, senior
photo by RYAN GRAHAM
Alaina Rigdon dug into the box with run- Junior Katie Serpico blasts a three-run home run during the Duhawks win over Platteville
ners on second and third pounded a liner Thursday.
into left field, bringing senior Lara Mangialardi home and giving the Duhawks a 7-6
Katie Serpico started the rally by blasting
Its hard to come out of a battle against
victory.
her seventh home run of the season over the BV with two losses after we had previousIt had been a while since I had been in a left field fence, making the score 6-2.
ly proved what we are capable of against
situation like that, said Rigdon. Going into
However, the Duhawks couldnt keep the Platteville, said Rigdon. We fought in
the at-bat, I went in with total confidence rally going in the seventh to complete the both games, especially the second one, but
that I would get the job at hand done.
come from behind victory and fell, 6-4.
werent able to come out on top. We are hitOn Saturday, the Duhawks took on Iowa
In their second game against Buena Vista, ting the ball well, but we failed to string the
Conference foe Buena Vista in their confer- the Beavers found their bats early and got off runs together. Even though they are conence home opener. Buena Vista would take to a 7-0 lead after two innings. The Duhawks sidered losses in the books, we were able
game one 6-4 and game two 7-6 despite two would come back in the third with a four run to learn more about ourselves during these
comeback pushes by the Duhawks.
inning which included a three run homer games and that will contribute to us becomGame one broke open in the fourth as the from Rigdon. After a Shindelar homer in the ing a better skilled team in the future.
Beavers scored six runs in the inning. In the fourth, the Duhawks went scoreless for the
The Duhawks will get back in action on
bottom half for the Duhawks, Kali Koopman rest of the game and lost the second game of Wednesday, April 9 against Wartburg Colopened up the inning with a double and later the double-header 7-6.
lege at 3 p.m. at Faber Clark field.
scored off of a single from Haase. In the fifth,

Duhawks prepare for their cross-town rivals

Tennis team drops 3 straight
to Iowa Conference opponents
by RYAN GRAHAM | sports editor

After losing three straight to Iowa Conference opponents, the Duhawks record stands
at 0-5 in the IIAC and 0-10 overall.
On Saturday, the Duhawks played a double-header with matches against Central
and Simpson. The Duhawks fell to Central
by the score of 8-1. Their lone point came
from sophomore Ulises Hernandez who beat
Kyle Freischlag of Central in three matches.
Loras was unable to rebound later in the
day against Simpson, who beat the Duhawks
7-2. Despite the loss, junior Ken Tucker
turned in a strong performance, defeating

Simpsons Mike Rundle in two matches in

singles competition. Tucker also helped secure a 9-7 win in doubles competition alongside sophomore Neil Kane as well.
On Tuesday, the Duhawks were no match
for conference leading Coe, who won the
match 9-0. The loss is Loras tenth of the
year.
We played all right against Central but we
really struggled in doubles, said head coach
Daniel Kurt. Against Simpson, our one-doubles didnt play very well. They lost 8-1 and it
should have been a lot closer match. Then in
singles against Simpson, we had a lot of close
matches but we werent able to pull them out.
Ulises and Neil both lost in three sets. But on
the bright side, Ken Tucker played really well

against Simpson.
Still in search of their first win of the season, the Duhawks will take on St. Ambrose
Wednesday, followed by a match against
University of Dubuque on Thursday.
Im not too familiar with how we will
match up against St Ambrose, Kurt said.
But in the past couple years; weve had
good matches with them so hopefully this
year will be the same. Thursday is a big meet
against University of Dubuque and we are
hoping we can beat them. Im confident that
if we play well we will come out ahead.
Loras and UD both find themselves at the
bottom of the Iowa Conference standings.
UD is also winless in the conference at 0-4.
Their 1-9 record on the season puts them

just one game ahead of the Duhawks. The

match against UD should provide the Duhawks with their best opportunity to pick up
their first win on the season.
The match against the University of
Dubuque is a huge match for us, Kurt said.
We circle this match on the calendar every year and we are really excited to play at
home on the Loras courts. I dont think were
really preparing any different physically, but
I think our mentality is a lot different just
because UD is such a big rival. Were really
going to want to take it to them on Thursday.
The Duhawks will face off against their
cross-town rivals Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
outside the AWC.