DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Luther Baseball team rallied after yesterday's defeat by earning a split with Loras to close out the series. The Norse roared back in the ninth inning to win 9-3 in game one followed by a walk-off by the Duhawks in the 9-8 defeat. Luther is now 21-15 overall and sit tied for second in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) standings at 14-7. 
 
GAME 1: NORSE (9), DUHAWKS (3)
Through the first five innings the game was held scoreless until Loras cracked it open but only squeaked across one run in the bottom of the sixth. Harry Blum (Fridley, Minn. / Fridley) pitched through the sixth inning giving up five hits, one run and four strikeouts. 
 
Then in the eighth, Joshua Matanich (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) and Noah Sebben (Moline, Ill. / Moline) hit back-to-back singles putting two runners on. The Norse were down to their final out of the inning before Will Heithoff (Winterset, Iowa / Winterset) hit a single into center field to score the tying run. The tie wouldn't last long as the Duhawks scored two in the bottom half taking back the lead by 3-1. 
 
Luther responded big in the final at bat with eight runs off of seven hits. It all started with singles from Peyton Lindmark (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley) and Charlie Rubendall (Minneapolis, Minn. / DeLaSalle). Then it was Aiden Michna (Moline, Ill. / Moline) who reached on an error as Lindmark raced home. But the Norse weren't done yet. Mark Prince (Encinitas, Calif. / La Costa Canyon) lined a double earning two RBIs as Luther got its first lead of the day at 4-1. Matanich blasted a two-run home run to keep the runs coming for his second home run in back-to-back games.
 
Even when there were two outs on the Luther Heithoff double and a Cullen Stamp (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) RBI single kept the good times rolling. Lindmark came back around to the plate hitting his second single of the inning as Stamp moved over to third. The two capitalized on the Duhawks errors both scoring for the 9-3. 
 
Nolan Klocke (Hayfield, Minn. / Hayfield) came in and shut down Loras with two force outs and one strikeout to take game one. Josh Stratton (Plainfield, Ill. / Central) picked up the win on the mound improving to 3-1 on the season. He gave up two hits, two runs and had a strikeout in his two complete innings of work. 
 
GAME 2: NORSE (8), DUHAWKS (9)
After the comeback, the Norse put one run up in the first inning as both Cullen Stamp and Peyton Lindmark hit a double and single to get on base. Charlie Rubendall hit the sac fly that scored Stamp earning the RBI for the early 1-0 lead. 
 
Loras rebounded with two runs in the second inning. Then Luther tied the game with a Gabe Atkins RBI single in the top of the third before the Duhawks scored another two taking back the lead. 
 
In the top of fourth, Sebben, Heithoff and Stamp hit singles, filling the bases. Then Peyton Lindmark was walked and another Norse run was on the board. Later with two outs Mark Prince singled and pinch running for him was Carter Petsche. Joshua Matanich reached on an error allowing Petsche to score. Atkins earned his second RBI of the day with his single which gave Luther a 6-4 advantage. 
 
Two scoreless innings the Norse had Kyle Moronoy was walked then Noah Sebben hit a two-run home run into left field doubling the lead to 8-4. That was quickly cut in the bottom half of the seventh inning with Loras scoring two runs. 
 
Luther did their best to build their lead but no luck so it went down once again to the final inning of action. Then Loras walked it off with three runs coming across the plate in the bottom of the ninth for the walk off 9-8 victory. 
 
TOP NORSE
                o   Harry Blum (Fridley, Minn. / Fridley), Josh Startton (Plainfield, Ill. / Central) and Nolan Klocke (Hayfield, Minn. / Hayfield) had a combined six strikeouts, gave up seven hits, and just three runs in game one. 
                o   Cullen Stamp (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) had a big day at the plate in the two games with seven hits, three runs, one RBI, two doubles, and one triple. 
                o   Joshua Matanich (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) had two runs, with three hits and three RBIs and hit his second home run of the season. 

UP NEXT
Luther will host UW-La Crosse on Tuesday, May 2nd for a single game with first pitch at 4:00 p.m. in Decorah, Iowa.  
 
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