Duhawks eliminate Simpson, Coe, will play 10 AM Saturday
May 9, 2008

GAME 1 BOXSCORE vs. Simpson

The Loras College baseball team knocked off the #2 seed Simpson College Storm Friday afternoon with a pair of three run innings to end the game and advance to the Friday night game with Coe College.

Reliever Brian Kearns earned the win on the mound, throwing two innings after Tim Carty started and went four. After Carty, head coach Carl Tebon sent Brad Joniec, who saved Thursday afternoon's game, out to the mound. Loras trailed 4-1 when Kearns came in the game, but the offense eventually got to Simpson starter Jake Ritchey in the top of the eighth, plating three runs to tie the game.

Don Pirkle led the way offensively, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. In that 8th inning, Pirkle recorded the first hit after Clark Egdorf was hit by a pitch. Two substitutions and a sacrifice fly later, Loras had tied the game at 4-4.

In the ninth inning, Pirkle came through again with a double off the left field wall for what held up as the game winning runs. Left fielder Tyler Shireman added an RBI single in his only at bat of the night to extend the lead to 7-4.

Simpson threatened in the bottom of the ninth before Nick Teson ended the bases loaded threat with a diving play up the middle. Teson picked himself up quickly enough to force out the Storm runner at second and end the game.  Loras advanced to play Coe College in the night game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

GAME 2 BOXSCORE vs. Coe

Loras' fourth game in two days was a memorable one, once again with the 2008 season on the line in an elimination game with the Coe College Kohawks.

Don Pirkle's weekend assault on Iowa Conference pitching continued in the night cap, and it spread to his teammates in the process. Loras totaled 18 hits in the 16-3 romp of the Kohawks. Each time a Duhawk hitter connected on a hit, they went no further than first base. Loras tallied an unheard of zero extra base hits in a shortened seven inning contest and pushed themselves through as one of the final three teams in the 2008 IIAC tournament.

Pirkle went 5-for-5 on the night and upped his average 23 points in the process. Other multi-hit efforts came off the bats of Adam Gross, Alex Miklo, and Ben Kuebel. Tim Andrews and Kuebel each drove in three runs in the game and Don Pirkle crossed the plate three times as well.

On the mound, Duhawk starter Bryan Geertgens battled through 4.1 innings, giving up a total of three runs, only one of which was earned. Reliever Brad Joniec appeared in his third game of the tournament. In 6.2 innings of work Joniec has allowed six hits and just one run in helping the Duhawks bullpen and team advance with a 3-1 record through four games of this year's tournament. Kyler Laurie earned the win with just one full inning of work, his third of the season.

The Kohawks used five pitchers in the night game. Lee Boyse took the loss. Two of the relievers never recorded an out and combined to give up five runs in the 11-run sixth inning. Loras had ten hits in the inning and Coe committed one error. When it was all said and done, Loras had extended a 4-3 lead to 15-3.

Loras advances to play Central College at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids. The winner will take on the top seed Wartburg Knights and will have to defeat the regular season champs twice to earn the IIAC's automatic bid.

Saturday's games can be heard live on the Duhawk Broadcast Network beginning with the Harris Motor Sports pregame show at around 9:50 AM.