Coe managed to touch up junior Adam Schwoebel for four hits through the first three innings, but the O'Fallon, Ill. native hunkered down and found a way to get out of the jams, forcing the Kohawks to strand five runners on base.
A leadoff double by senior Niko Andriotis in the bottom of the third kicked off a strong inning for Loras which saw the Duhawks plate two runs thanks in part to a costly error by Coe. Attempting to lay down a sacrifice bunt, freshman Spence Bonner reached base on a throwing error by Coe's AJ Reuter allowed Andriotis to score from second. Another sacrifice bunt, this time by senior Alex Rodriguez, moved Bonner over to third, where he scored easily on a single by senior Mike Pudlo.
With the two run lead, Schwoebel was strong on the mound when it counted, pitching four shutout innings. In the top of the fifth, a one-out triple by Reuter was enough to crack Schwoebel, as Coe managed to plate three runs on four hits to take the lead.
After adding two more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, Loras went to bat in the home half of the seventh trailing by three. After a leadoff groundout by Bonner, Loras strung together two singles by Rodriguez and Pudlo and freshman Cole Reeg drew a walk to load the bases.
Then it happened.
Standing in, representing the winning run, sophomore Patrick Walsh had the chance to be the hero. But not many people watching could have anticipated what was about to ensue.
Working his way back into the count after falling behind, Coe reliever, Jack Hoffmann, dug into his glove to get his grip for the 3-2 pitch. Standing 60 feet, six inches away, Walsh saw the fastball all the way and sent it on a one-way ticket over the right field wall for a walk-off grand slam.
"Pat had himself a great at-bat and he made sure to not miss the one that was in the strike zone," Head Coach Carl Tebon said. "He knew what was on the line and all we needed was for him to extend the inning. In the end, he squared it up and won it for us."
After being out-hit 15-9 in the ball game, the Duhawks shocked their rival Kohawks with the walk-off four-bagger to take game three of the series.
In addition to Walsh's late-inning heroics, Pudlo finished 4-for-4 with four singles and a RBI. Rodriguez was the only other Duhawk to register multiple hits on the day, going 2-for-2.
Senior Miles Canady, who came on in relief of Schwoebel, earned his second win of the year, throwing 1.2 innings, allowing three hits and no runs.
With the series win in the bag, the Duhawks turned things over to senior Jake Norton for game two of the day. The southpaw was solid for Loras through three innings, only allowing four hits, but the bats finally came alive for Coe in the fourth. A single to center field by Cole Tomlinson drove home the first two runs of the game for the Kohawks to give them the lead.
Craig Konrardy was a menace at the plate, finishing the day 5-for-6 with four RBIs, two doubles, and a triple. It wasn't until the top of the ninth, with sophomore Nick Petruzzi on the mound, that Loras found a way to retire him, forcing him to strike out looking.
After grabbing the lead in the fourth, Coe added three runs in the fifth, one each in the seventh and eighth, and three more in the top of the ninth to cruise to a 12-2 victory.
Loras is now winners of 10 of their last 12, and have sole possession of second place in the Iowa Conferece, one game behind Buena Vista and Wartburg who are tied for first. The Duhawks travel to Waverly, Iowa next Saturday and Monday for their four-game series against the Knights. Before next weekend, Loras will play a pair of non-conference games against Augustana, on Wednesday, and Dominican, on Thursday.