GAME INFORMATION
Final Score: Drake 4, Loyola 0
Records: DU (22-12, 10-0 MVC); LUC (18-13, 2-6 MVC)
Location: Loyola Softball Park -- Chicago, Ill.
Pitchers of Record:W: Nicole Newman (15-6); L: Kiley Jones (9-5)
Stats: Box Score

In Short...
Drake scored three runs in the top of the first and rode the arm of pitcher Nicole Newman to a 4-0 win over Loyola in game one of a doubleheader this afternoon at Loyola Softball Park.

How It Happened
+ Drake jumped on Loyola starter Kiley Jones right off the bat, as the first two hitters of the game reached on singles
+ A throwing error allowed the first run to score before Ashlie Chambers' pop fly fell in for a two-out, two-run single to make it a 3-0 game
+ Erica Nagel stayed hot for Loyola and led off the bottom of the first with a double and the Ramblers had runners on first and second with no outs before Newman notched a pair of strikeouts and a foul out to escape trouble
+ Neither team was able to muster much on a cold day until Katie Kasubke and Katy LaCivita drew back-to-back walks in the fourth only for a fly out to end the inning
+ Drake added an insurance run in the fifth on a Chambers ground out and Newman took it from there, allowing just one LU baserunner over the final three frames

Inside The Box Score
+ Nagel provided the offense, notching both of the team's hits with a first-inning double and a fifth-inning single
+ Jones went five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts
+ She allowed six of the eight hits in the first and fifth innings, the two innings that Drake scored, and was terrific in the other three frames
+ Ashley Rogers came in and pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen
+ Newman allowed only the two hits and the two walks while striking out 12