JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Carleton College baseball team dropped both ends of a non-conference double header against Loras College. In the opener, the Knights carried a two-run lead into the final inning, only to have the Duhawks pull out a 5-3 triumph. The momentum stayed with Loras in the nightcap as Carleton absorbed an 8-2 setback, despite Adam Zweber’s (So./Corvallis, Ore.) first collegiate homer.

In game one, Carleton surrendered a run in the top of the first but countered in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Alex Wirta (Jr./ Corte Madera, Calif./Redwood) and run-scoring grounder by Grant Bowen (Sr./Duxbury, Mass.). The Knights tacked on another run in the next frame as an errant pickoff attempt allowed Ray Yong (Fy./Elmhurst, Ill./York) to race home from second base.

The score remained 3-1 until the top of the seventh when Loras used five singles to scratch out four runs, saddling Paul Dimick (Jr./Northfield, Minn.) with the loss. The lefty yielded 5 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts over 6.2 innings.

Carleton looked to rebound in game two, scoring runs in the first two frames. Wirta singled home Erik Fabry (Jr./Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) in the opening stanza, and Zweber went deep to open the next inning. The Knights had multiple chances to add to their run total, but they stranded seven runners—five in scoring position—over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Meanwhile, Loras got the bats going against Carleton starter Henry Rownd (So./Rochester, Minn./Lourdes), pushing across three runs in the second and two more in both the fourth and fifth frames. Rownd struck out five over his 5.0 innings on the mound but was charged with 7 runs (5 earned) on 10 hits and a walk.

The Knights will step away from competition until their Spring Break trip to Southern California from March 16-25.