GAME INFORMATION
Final Score: Loyola 4, Missouri State 0
Records: LU (17-12, 1-5 MVC); MSU (13-17, 2-4 MVC)
Location: Loyola Softball Park -- Chicago, Ill.
Pitchers of Record:W: Kiley Jones (9-4); L: Erin Struemph (7-9)
Stats: Box Score

In Short...
Hannah Jenkins hit a two-out, two-run home run in the fourth inning to open the scoring and Kiley Jones did the rest, tossing a five-hit shutout to lead Loyola to a 4-0 win over Missouri State in game one of a twinbill at Loyola Softball Park.

Coach Jeff Tylka Says...
"Kiley was excellent for us today. She was aggressive in the strike zone and made some big pitches when she needed to. I thought Brie (Pasquale) had the at-bat of the game in the fourth inning, battling and extending the inning with a base hit before Jenkins took advantage of a rare mistake and hit the big home run."

How It Happened
+ Jones had to buckle down early, as Missouri State's leadoff hitter reached on an infield single and moved to second on an error, but she fanned the next two hitters and induced a ground out to end the inning
+ Struemph also had to pitch out of first-inning trouble, as Loyola used singles from Erica Nagel and Brooke Wyderski to put two on with only one out, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat
+ Missouri State loaded the bases with no outs in the second but Jones wiggled out of that jam with a fielders choice and a pair of strikeouts to keep the Bears off the board
+ Loyola left a pair of runners in the third before breaking through in the fourth
+ Struemph struck out the first two hitters of the inning before Pasquale singled to cap a 15-pitch at-bat and Jenkins followed by driving a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left for her second home run of the season
+ Jones posted zeroes in the fifth and sixth before the Ramblers picked up some insurance in the home half of the sixth
+ Singles from Katie Kasubke and Pasquale put two runners on with two outs and Jamie O'Brien dropped in a bloop double to score both to make it a 4-0 game heading to the seventh
+ Jones was able to close it out, retiring the Bears in order to give the Ramblers their first MVC win of the season

Inside The Box Score
+ Jones was terrific and got better as the game wore on, allowing just five hits and no walks to go with eight strikeouts, en route to her third shutout of the season
+ Nagel, Pasquale and O'Brien all recorded two hits as Loyola outhit the Bears, 9-5
+ The homer was Jenkins' second of the season (Last: Feb. 28 at Tennessee State)
+ The 7-8-9 spots in Loyola's batting order went 5-for-9 with four RBIs
+ Struemph struck out a career-high 13 hitters for Missouri State, with Wyderski and Pasquale the only starters to not strike out
+ Jones' eight punchouts were one shy of her career-best (vs. Appalachian State, March 6)