The Loras softball team has had their struggles throughout the season, but was able to capture sixth place and the final berth for the Iowa Conference Tournament, which takes place today.

Loras finished their season on Monday against non-conference opponent Grinnell College. The team ended up splitting the doubleheader, bringing their final record to 16-19 overall. After beating out Cornell College (4-12) and Wartburg College (4-12), Loras finished the regular season with a 5-11 conference record. 

Coach Ashley Rogers knew it was going to be a tough finish to see who would get that final berth, but when the team found out that their season would be extended, they were extremely excited.

Today the Duhawks will take on Central College in the conference tournament at 3 p.m. If they win,  they will play again later tonight; if they lose, they will play Friday. Central College finished the season third in the conference with a 12-4 record, and a 27-10 record overall.

Rogers feels that the team is right on the edge to breakout.

“Our team has competed with every team in the conference this year, we have had so many tough one- or two-run losses. We know that we are right there, now it’s time to step up and finish,” she said.

Loras played a doubleheader against Central early in April, in a makeup game after weather prevented them from playing the day before. Central beat the Duhawks  10-0 in the first game, but the second contest was much closer, as Loras eventually lost 1-0.

The women will be going out there hoping they can show Central an offensive blast that they did not see in those games prior, now that they are at the part of the season that counts the most. 

Coach Rogers likes what she has seen out of her team the past few games, namely that the bats have come alive, and they’ve hit the ball hard and scored in multiple innings.

Hopefully, what the team did against Grinnell earlier this week will be a sign of what is to come in the Conference Tournament, and each player will contribute to help the team get more victories.

“As a team, we need to step it up a notch,” Rogers said. Each player needs to dig a little deeper and find that little extra that is going to help our team succeed.”