CHICAGO -

Final Score: Northern Iowa 7, Loyola 6 (9 inn.)
Records: Loyola (22-20, 5-13 MVC); Northern Iowa (26-15, 14-4 MVC)
Location: Loyola Softball Park -- Chicago, Ill.
Stats: Box Score 

In Short
Brittney Krodinger’s RBI single in the top of the ninth inning lifted visiting Northern Iowa (26-15, 14-4 MVC) to a 7-6 victory over Loyola University Chicago in a wild opener to a doubleheader this afternoon at Loyola Softball Park. With the loss, the Ramblers fall to 22-20 overall and 5-13 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

How It Happened
Loyola drew first blood on a chilly and windy afternoon in Rogers Park when Alyssa Mannucci and Katie Kasubke ripped back-to-back two-out doubles in the bottom of the first to give the Ramblers a 1-0 advantage.

Northern Iowa evened the score with a run in the second inning before Loyola reclaimed the lead in the third on Mannucci’s two-run homer to left field. That lead would be short-lived in this back-and-forth affair, however, as solo homers from Ashley Chesser and Jaci Spencer in the fourth knotted things up at 3.

The Ramblers grabbed the lead right back in the bottom half of that inning on Shannon McGee’s two-out double that scored Brooke Wilson, but UNI seized the lead in the top of the fifth when Macey Wolfe smacked a two-run single to put the Panthers on top, 5-4.

Loyola fought back and tied the game in the sixth on McGee’s two-out RBI single, but UNI answered with a run in the top of the seventh that gave the Panthers a 6-5 lead. A resilient Rambler squad countered that punch from the Panthers by tying the game in the bottom of the seventh when Jordyn Cordell hit a one-out sacrifice fly to center that plated Erica Nagel, who had reached on a single earlier in the inning.

After Krodinger’s ninth-inning single that gave the Panthers a 7-6 lead, Loyola had one final chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth when Nagel started a rally with a lead-off single, but UNI reliever Bailey Lange recorded back-to-back strikeouts before inducing a game-ending ground out.

A Look At The Numbers
- Loyola reliever Kiley Jones tossed 4.1 innings and allowed just one earned run and struck out four in a hard-luck loss.
- McGee, Nagel and Mannucci tallied two hits apiece with Mannucci and McGee also driving in a pair of runs.

Up Next
Loyola and Northern Iowa play game two of today’s doubleheader next.