Boxscore (PDF)

CHICAGO (April 21, 2018)
 
In Short
Host Loyola University Chicago (21-19, 7-9 MVC) scored four runs in the final two innings to earn a come-from-behind, 4-3 victory in eight innings over Missouri State (28-16, 13-5 MVC) in the nightcap of a doubleheader this afternoon at Loyola Softball Park. The Ramblers accounted for seven of their 11 total hits in the final two innings.
 
How It Happened
Single runs in the first, third and fifth innings, including a RBI single and double by Darian Frost, helped the visiting Bears jump out to a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead before the Ramblers finally got to starter Erin Griesbauer.
 
Loyola busted through against the sophomore righthander in the bottom of the fifth inning when Brooke Wilson led off with a bunt single and later scored on a Missouri State fielding error, to trim the deficit to 3-1.
 
The game would stay that way until the seventh inning with the Ramblers mounted a rally for the ages. After Griesbauer retired the lead-off hitter, three straight hits – singles by Wilson and Jamie O'Brien, and a RBI double off the bat of Emily Borg – helped cut the gap in half and forced a MSU pitching change as Megan Hunsaker came on in relief of Griesbauer. 
 
After Hunsaker retired Peyton DeChant, putting the Ramblers down to their final out, Shannon McGee blooped an infield hit to second base that sent O'Brien scampering home to tie the game at 3 and put runners at the corners. However, that was all the damage Loyola could muster in the inning as Hunsaker got out of trouble and forced extra innings.
 
Loyola starter Keenan Dolezal, who earned her third straight win, surrendered a lead-off single in the top of the eighth, but kept Missouri State off the board, setting the stage for some more Rambler heroics in the middle of the inning.
 
Back-to-back singles from Katie Kasubke and Jordyn Cordell opened the eighth for Loyola and Allyson Ivey moved both runners up a base with a sacrifice bunt, bringing Wilson, the offensive hero of the afternoon, to the plate. The junior outfielder provided the game-winning hit when she dropped down a perfectly placed bunt in front of the plate to score a diving Kasubke with the winning run that capped Loyola's improbable, 4-3 victory.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Dolezal struck out five, her most since April 15, 2017, in a complete-game victory.
• Wilson finished the game 4-for-4, her first career four-hit performance, and scored a pair of runs, while driving in the game winner.
• Eight of Loyola's nine starting position players tallied at least one hit.

 
Up Next
Loyola and Missouri State closed out the three-game series with a single game tomorrow at 11 a.m.