The Hawks struggled in the home opening weekend against Emporia State although they were able to win one out of three games.

The two teams played a double header on Saturday where the Hawks won the first game and lost the second.

Dominic Miles was able to get the Hawks going early in the first game with a first-inning solo home run. They added two more runs in the third inning with a RBI double by Jake Walters and RBI single by J.C. DeMuri.

Hunter Haynes started off strong for the Hawks as he threw three scoreless innings before he got in trouble in the fourth when he allowed four runs.

However, the Hawks were able to battle back with a RBI single by Chandler Purcell that tied the game.

In the fifth, the Hawks added four more runs to add to their lead. They were able to stop a comeback by Emporia State, but the Hawks were able to hold them to win 8-7.

Hunter Haynes earned the win despite struggling after allowing six runs in 5 1/3 inning.

“It was a good win, it proved that we can win a close ballgame” Dominic Miles stated.

The second game was not too kind for the Hawks. Riley Martin (freshmen) struggled after starting the season strong.

“We were not able to get a quality start out of Riley, just a little hiccup, he has been good for us all year” Rabe explained.

He allowed six runs in the first inning while lasting only one inning. The Hawks’ bullpen took over for the rest of the game.

Emporia State was up 13-0 in the second inning before J.C. DeMuri was able to put the QU offense on the board.

The Hawks were not able to make a comeback with the final score of 19-7.

“We couldn’t get our offense going, and it was tough to win being down 13-0 in the second inning” Rabe stated.

The Hawks were hoping to rebound on Sunday after a tough game two loss. It was a close game until QU allowed ten runs in the last three innings.

Mark Niebrugge (Senior) had a rough start of the game when he allowed a two-run single in the first inning.

The Hawks were able to even the score 2-2 in the fourth inning after a RBI single by Carter Naughton and a RBI off a fielder’s choice by Jack Klages.

Niebrugge then went four scoreless innings and got into trouble in the 6th inning after Emporia State hit a two-run double with two outs. He was then taken out of the game.

QU’s bullpen was not able to hold them as they allowed ten runs in the final three innings.

The Hawks ended up losing 14-2 in the third game of the weekend.

Despite a tough weekend, Coach Rabe and the team were excited about great fan support.

“I was more than pleased with the crowd, and our guys love it with the energy from the stands” Rabe stated.

“It was fun, we got lots of support from the crowd that watched us play,” J.C. DeMuri.

The Hawks next game is a double header at home Tuesday, March 7 against Upper Iowa. The first pitch is at 1 pm and the second game will start at 4 pm.

Live stats and live video can be viewed at quhawks.com.