DAVENPORT, Fla. — The UW-River Falls baseball team opened its 2026 season at the RussMatt Invitational on Friday morning with a 6-2 win over Loras College.
The Falcons used a five-run first inning and solid pitching to down the Duhawks, improving to 1-0 overall wile Loras' overall record fell to 6-6.
UWRF wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.
Tanner Hraby led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple and came home on a sacrifice fly by
Max Krebs to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Then with the bases loaded,
JV Castillo delivered an RBI single and
John Santelman followed with a two-run single. A wild pitch later capped the inning to give UWRF a 5-0 early advantage.
Loras answered in the top of the third when Vince Polizzi launched a two-run home run to left field, trimming the deficit to 5-2. However, UWRF starting pitcher
Shaun Gavin settled in after that point, limiting the Duhawks to four hits over five innings of work. The right-hander struck out four and allowed two runs to earn the win in his first start of the season.
River Falls added an insurance run in the seventh inning.
Andrew Athmann doubled to left center to spark the rally and later scored when Castillo reached on a Loras error, pushing the lead to 6-2.
Jeffrey Freund took over on the mound in the sixth and closed the door on the Duhawks. The lefty tossed four scoreless innings in his collegiate debut, allowing just two hits while striking out three to earn the save.
The Falcons finished with 10 hits on the morning. Santelman led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance and two RBIs, while Hraby went 2-for-5 with a triple and a run scored. Castillo drove in two runs, and Athmann added a double and scored twice.
Tomorrow, UWRF returns to action with a game against Clarkson University at 7:30 p.m (ET) in Winter Haven, Fla.
