Senior Night had special meaning for Marion High School southpaw Levi Lochner on Wednesday with his grandfather in the stands for the first time this season.

Don Lochner has been battling medical issues, but he made it to the ballpark and saw his grandson toss a three-hit shutout as the Indians blanked Western Dubuque, 1-0, in the first game of a Wamac Conference doubleheader.

Western Dubuque won the nightcap, 3-2.

Lochner was happy to put on a good performance for his grandfather.

"He's been in and out of hospice and nursing homes and stuff, so it was nice to have him up here for a game," said Lochner. "He always likes watching the team and everybody. I know he was happy to get out here."

Lochner appreciates all the support he's received from his grandfather over the years.

"He and my grandma, every game since I was little, they were always sitting up there somewhere," he said. "They would make every game, no matter how far."

Lochner has enjoyed a brilliant senior campaign for Marion. He has a 7-1 record and microscopic 0.69 earned run average, having allowed only five earned runs in 51 innings. He has 64 strikeouts and opponents are hitting less than .100 against him.

Lochner, a three-year regular, has a 19-4 career mark with 147 strikeouts in 148.1 innings. He's always had a good curveball, but he's added more pop to his fastball this season and is hitting 80 mph on the radar gun now.

"Before this season, I actually started working out with Coach (Tom) Hauck in the weight room," he said. "Yeah, it's definitely increased (my velocity) from last year and my sophomore year. That's really helped."

Lochner does not overpower anyone with his fastball, but it fools batters who are looking for his big breaking ball. "Yeah," he said, "it creeps up on you."

Lochner has thrown two no-hitters this season, one against Benton Community and the other against Clear Creek Amana.

"The first one against Benton, I didn't even realize it," he said. "I was just more focused on beating the No.2 team in the state at the time. It kind of happened.

"The same with the second one. I'm just going out to try and throw strikes and fill up the zone. It happens. People make plays behind me and it makes life easy."

Marion Coach Steve Fish has enjoyed watching Lochner develop over the years, from a nervous sophomore who pitched in the semifinals of the Class 3A state tournament in 2011 to the mature senior and ace of the staff in 2013.

"He's been a fun kid to coach," said Fish. "It's a pretty good career. It's up toward the top (in school history). All those experiences have really helped him grow and mature. He's one of our team leaders."

Lochner is primarily a pitcher and rarely swings the bat, but Fish said he's perfectly happy with his role on the club. "In this day and age, there's not a lot of kids who want to sit and just pitch," the coach said.

"Some do, but not a lot."

Fish likes the way Lochner has grown as a pitcher.

"The difference between those other years, I think there's more confidence," said Fish. "He makes pitches when he needs to make pitches.

"He doesn't overpower you, but he moves it around. The ball runs a little bit. With our defense, it gives us a chance to win."

Lochner struck out seven batters, walked two and allowed only three singles. The lanky lefthander will pitch at Rochester (Minn.) Community College next year.

Marion scored the only run in the opener in the second inning. David Kuhn led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by Logan Fuller.

Christian Stekl went 2-for-3 with two doubles for the Indians in the nightcap. Stekl was 3-for-3 in the opener, making him 5-for-6 in the twinbill.

Quinn Cannoy pitched the entire game in the nightcap and was the hard-luck loser.

The split left Marion at 18-15 overall and 16-12 in the Wamac Conference. Western Dubuque is 23-12 and 19-9.

GAME 1

WESTERN DUBUQUE (0): Ludwig, c, 3 0 0 0, McCoy, cf, 3 0 1 0, Reimer, rf, 2 0 0 0, Donahue, dh, 3 0 0 0, C.Kramer, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Hoerner, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Nadermann, ss, 3 0 0 0, D.Kramer, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Baumhover, p, 2 0 1 0. Totals 23 0 3 0.

MARION (1): Fuller, 2b, 3 0 1 1, Ch.Stekl, ss, 3 0 3 0, Biery, 1b, 2 0 1 0, Charipar, cf, 2 0 1 0, Ca.Stekl, c, 3 0 0 0, Hardman, rf, 3 0 1 0, Kuhn, 3b, 3 1 2 0, Connelly, dh, 3 0 0 0, Lochner, p, 0 0 0 0, Cannoy, lf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 25 1 9 1.

Western Dubuque   000 000 0 - 0 3 1

Marion            010 000 x - 1 9 1

Baumhover and Ludwig. Lochner and Ca.Stekl. W - Lochner. L - Baumhover. 2B - Kuhn. SB - C.Kramer.

GAME 2

WESTERN DUBUQUE (3): Ludwig, c, 3 0 1 0, Richardson, cr, 0 1 0 0, McCoy, p/cf, 3 0 3 0, Reimer, rf, 1 0 0 0, Donahue, 1b, 2 0 0 1, Buerger, pr, 0 0 0 0, C.Kramer, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Hoerner, dh, 4 2 1 0, Donovan, lf, 0 0 0 0,

Samson, p, 0 0 0 0, Nadermann, ss, 2 0 0 0, D.Kramer, 2b, 2 0 0 1, Pfeiler, cf/lf, 3 0 1 1. Totals 23 3 7 3.

MARION (2): Fuller, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Ch.Stekl, ss, 3 0 2 2, Biery, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Charipar, cf, 4 0 0 0, Ca.Stekl, c, 2 0 0 0, Carstenson, cr, 0 0 0 0, Hardman, rf, 2 0 0 0, Kuhn, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Connelly, lf, 1 2 0 0, Cannoy, p, 3 0 1 0. Totals 23 2 4 2.

Western Dubuque   001 101 0 - 3 7 0

Marion            001 000 1 - 2 4 0

McCoy, Samson (7) and Ludwig. Cannoy and Ca.Stekl. W - McCoy. L - Cannoy. S - Samson,. 2B - McCoy, Pfeiler, Ch.Stekl 2.