Boxscore (PDF)

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (April 11, 2018)
 
In Short
Loyola University Chicago (17-16) scored five runs in the final two innings, including three in the sixth, to rally for an 8-4 victory over host Notre Dame (26-13) in game one of a doubleheader today at Melissa Cook Stadium. The win snaps the Ramblers' three-game losing streak.
 
How It Happened
Notre Dame wasted little time taking the lead, scoring three runs, including two on a home run off the bat of Sara White, in the bottom of the first inning off Loyola starter Keenan Dolezal. After that shaky first inning however, Dolezal settled in and shut down the Fighting Irish offense for the next four innings, allowing only two hits in that stretch.
 
The Ramblers closed the gap to a single run in the third inning on a RBI groundout from Katie Kasubke and a run-scoring fielder's choice by Jamie O'Brien. The game stayed that until the top of the fifth, when O'Brien poked a two-out single up the middle to plate Caitlin Engelking, who had reached on a base hit, then promptly stole second base to get into scoring position, to tie the game at 3.
 
Loyola grabbed the lead thanks to a three-run sixth, that featured some shaky Notre Dame defense, scoring two of its runs, including the go-ahead tally, on Irish gaffes. After Notre Dame trimmed the deficit to 6-4 with a run in the bottom half of the inning, the Ramblers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh on Allyson Ivey's two-run single.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Three Ramblers recorded two-hit games – Shannon McGee, Ivey and O'Brien.
• Ivey went 2-for-2 with three RBI and O'Brien finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs driven in.
• McGee scored twice and Dolezal halted a personal four-game losing skid by scattering six hits in 5.2 innings for her fourth win of 2018. 

Up Next
Loyola and Notre Dame play game two of today's doubleheader.