Simpson sweeps Loras in pair of tight games

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Simpson pulled away in a nine-inning battle in game one and survived a last at-bat rally in game two on its way to a doubleheader sweep against Loras, 6-1 and 6-5, Wednesday afternoon at Faber-Clark Field.

Kelsie Host (Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk) had seven hits on the day and drove in three runs to lead the No. 21 Storm (24-7, 11-1), who won their 20th game in 21 tries and clinched a spot in the Iowa Conference Tournament with the sweep. Whitney Oviatt (Carnation, Wash./Cedarcrest) earned both wins in the circle, tossing all 16 innings on the day.

Michelle Bahl gave the Duhawks (13-14, 3-7) a 1-0 lead in game one when she connected on a solo homer in the fourth inning. The shot proved the only flaw in the game for Oviatt (17-4), who struck out nine.

For the day, Oviatt allowed six runs off 13 hits, fanning 11.

With Simpson trailing 1-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth, Tieryn Potratz (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) roped an RBI double to the right-center gap. Amanda Enochs (Des Moines, Iowa/East) scored from first on the play, but Potratz was tagged out at third trying to stretch her hit into a triple.

The two teams went scoreless for the next three innings, until the flood gates opened in the ninth.

A leadoff double by Potratz followed by two walks loaded the bases for Keri Sorensen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley). Sorensen coaxed a third-straight walk, allowing what would be the winning run to score. Two wild pitches, an RBI single from Host and an RBI double from Kelsey Castenson (Harcourt, Iowa/Southeast Webster) brought the run total to five in the inning, as Simpson held on for the 6-1 win.

Simpson got down again in game two, trailing 1-0 after two innings. But a run-scoring single off the bat of Sorensen and a 2-RBI double by Host gave the Storm a 3-1 lead through the third.

With a comfortable 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, Loras got three run-scoring singles with the bases loaded. With two outs, Oviatt finally got Tracy Sullivan to fly out to left field, stranding the potential tying run at third.

Sitting atop the conference standings, Simpson's next contest comes against No. 11 Central (21-8, 7-3), which split a doubleheader with No. 4 Luther on Wednesday. The Storm will travel to Pella to face the Dutch in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday.