Loras comes back to top Storm in IIAC first round

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Niko Andriotis drove in the go-ahead run and Loras scored twice in the eighth inning to beat Simpson 5-4 in the first round of the Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

Simpson led 4-3 before Mike Pudlo led off the bottom of the eighth with the game-tying, solo homer. Andriotis brought home the eventual winning run from second on a two-out single and Simpson mustered just one hit in the ninth.

The fifth-seeded Storm (20-21) will play sixth-seeded Coe at 10 a.m. Friday in the tournament's first elimination game, to be played at Veteran's Memorial Stadium.

The sixth-seeded Kohawks (15-23) lost to Central 12-0.

Iowa Conference Tournament Website

Brett Crable and Bud Smith had three hits apiece to lead Simpson, which out-hit Loras 12-10 but managed just four hits and no runs in the final five frames.

Pudlow went 3-for-4 for the fourth-seeded Duhawks (18-21), who will play top-seeded Buena Vista in the second round Thursday night.

Simpson got out to an early 2-0 lead when Michael Chia drove in two on a double in the first at-bat. Jake Esdohr drove in a run on a groundout in the top of the third to make 3-0 before Loras came back with two in the home half.

Tyler Craig hit a sacrifice fly to give Simpson a 4-2 lead in the fourth, but Loras once again cut the lead to one when Alex Rodriguez tripled in a run in the bottom of the fourth.

Adam Schwoebel (3-4) threw five innings of one-run relief to earn the win and Jeremy Gerardy came on in the ninth for his fourth save.

Matt Pennings went the distance for Storm, allowing 10 hits and striking out four. Pennings (6-4) threw 103 pitches.