Baseball Begins New Era with Loras Doubleheader

RANTOUL, IL -- Blackburn College Baseball began a new era Friday by taking on Loras University and scored first in both games but were unable to hold on as they fell 19-3 and 14-4.

Junior Brett Lander led the way with four hits on the day, including one double. He also scored a run in the second game. Sophomores Diego Perez and Omar Claudio both hit their first home runs of the season, with Claudio adding a double and two runs. Seniors Andrew Lozano, R.J. Arredondo, and C.J. Brunaugh, junior Harley Carney, and freshman Andrew Medina also notched two hits each. 

From the mound, junior Royce Congi tallied four strikeouts. 

In the opener, Carney started the BC first inning with a single but was soon thrown out. Lozano followed with a single and reached second on a passed ball then got to third on a Loras error. Arredondo would single which allowed Lozano to score the first run of the game. 

However, the Duhawks answered with runs in the second and third inning. Trailing 11-1 in the bottom of the third, Carney single in the first at bat of the inning. After advancing to second on a passed ball, Arredondo knocked Carney in with another single to narrow the gap. The fourth inning saw Perez hit his first home of the season to make it 11-3. Unfortunately, Loras added six runs in the fifth inning and two more in the seventh to win 19-3. 

The second game featured Claudio's two-run home in the second inning to also score Brunaugh to put BC up 2-0. Brunaugh reached on a single. Loras responded with three runs in the fourth, but Blackburn answered. Lander doubled in the third inning and sophomore Luke Ellinger reached first on an error. A Carney walk loaded the bases before a walk from Lozano scored Lander and made it 3-3. 

Claudio started the fifth inning with a double and scored on a Lander single to put BC back up 4-3. Once again though, the Duhawks answered by scoring nine runs in the sixth inning and posted two more in the seventh to take the 14-4 victory. 

Blackburn will return to action on March 15 as part of their spring break to Texas where they will start the week with a doubleheader at Howard Payne University.