Coach Chad Harris' baseball squad pounded out 17 hits Wednesday in a 13-5 non-conference home win over city rival Loras College at A.J. Spiegel Park in Peosta, Iowa. Leadoff hitter Jared Munson tied a school record with five hits and desgnated hitter Tony Harvat went 3-for-5 with four RBIs for the Crusaders, who improved to 9-7.

Munson went 5-for-6, while Chris Briggs was 4-for-5. Michael Jimenez and J.D. Judd each had two RBIs.

Clarke starter Brian Cross (2-0) pitched five innings. Steve Mabeus pitched the final four innings in relief to pick up the win. Cross and Mabeus combined for six srikeouts.

Clarke took a 3-0 lead in the first and extended the lead to 5-0 in the fourth. Loras (1-3) pushed three runs across the plate in the fifth and closed with 5-4 with a single run in the sixth. But Clarke blew the game open with eight runs in the bottom of the sixth. Harvat's two-run single to center highlighted the Crusaders' sixth inning.

Clarke will play one nine-inning game at Iowa Wesleyan on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

-CRUSADERS-