Junior pitcher Michelle Sabatini threw the first no-hitter for Loras since 2004 in lifting Loras to a 1-0 home victory Sunday over the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Sabatini mowed down UW-Oshkosh, allowing just three walks while retiring the rest in the opening game of a doubleheader.
Coach Ashley Rogers said Sabatini’s pitching performance was especially impressive when you consider that she was facing “a tough offense.”
But Sabatini couldn’t do it without a little help from her teammates. Rogers praised junior catcher Tracy Sullivan, who calls the pitches for the Duhawks, and she said there were several “defensive gems” in the field to keep the no-hitter intact.
And the hitting star for Loras was first-year infielder Niki Rivera, who hit a home run in the second inning to give the Duhawks the only run they needed.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Oshkosh came back with a vengeance and beat Loras, 9-0. The Duhawks were victimized by three errors that led to four unearned runs.
“We always seem to give up one big inning on defense, with the errors being contagious,” Rogers said. “This will will not get the team far in the tournament. In the Iowa Conference and versus good teams like Oshkosh, we can’t allow that to happen. We will continue to work on our communication on defense as well as making stepping up and making the clutch play.”
The 2-game split was the theme of the past week for Loras, as the Duhawks split three straight doubleheaders. They now have a 3-5 record in the Iowa Conference and an overall record of 13-12.
A week ago, the Duhawks came out firing on all cylinders on the way to a 13-0 trouncing of Edgewood. First-year pitcher Kellie Klein allowed just one hit and no runs before the game was halted by the “mercy rule” was applied after five innings.
Junior infielder Sara Palczynski’s belted her first home run of the year to get Loras off on the right foot, then the Duhawks broke the game open with an eight-run second inning, which was punctuated by a grand slam off the bat of Sullivan.
In the second game of the doubleheader against Edgewood, however, the bats went silent and Loras lost, 2-1.
“I feel like we take our opponent too lightly in the second game just because we won the first,” Rogers said. “We need to stay on the top of our game and have a competitive mindset that we are going to ‘take two.’”
Saturday’s doubleheader against conference foe Cornell had a hauntingly similar outcome. In the first game at Mount Vernon, the Duhawks’ bat again were hot. Loras won the first game 12-3, but dropped a 7-5 decision in the nightcap.
Rogers couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that Loras won the first game of three straight doubleheaders but failed to win the second each time. She preferred to focus on the positives.
“It’s great to see the Duhawks come out of the gates and win game one,” she said. “In the past few games, the Duhawks have been doing a good job of scoring early, which really takes the pressure off our defense and pitchers.”
Nonetheless, she believes her team has plenty of room to improve. Fortunately, the Duhawks have 10 games to move up in the Iowa Conference standings, so now is as good a time as any to reel off a string of victories.
“Overall, we have seen great improvements from last year,” she said. “We are still working on believing in ourselves and what our team is capable of.”
The Duhawks now are preparing to square off with arch-rival Wartburg College at the Loras softball field Saturday. The opening game of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
