In Short…
Loyola picked up two more wins with convincing victories over Sacred Heart (7-2) and Hartford (8-0, five innings played). The victories improved the Ramblers to 9-0 to open the season.
Coach Tylka's Thoughts
"I was very pleased with how the girls played today in how they competed against a Sacred Heart team that was predicted to win its conference," head coach
Jeff Tylka said. "We didn't play great, but we kept working to put pressure on until we made something happen. In game two, we had a very business-like approach, and Keenan [Dolezal] gave us another quality start. Tomorrow we have a chance to have another undefeated weekend, which is always exciting."
How It Happened
In game one, the offense picked up right where it left off from Friday by loading the bases with nobody out in the game's opening inning.
Allyson Ivey drew a bases-loaded walk to pick up an RBI, but the Ramblers couldn't muster any more runs and took a 1-0 lead.
The Pioneers tied the game at 1-1 in their half of the first, but Loyola responded with a big third inning to retake control.
Katie Polaski's bases-clearing double drove three runners home and extended her hitting streak to three games.
Now down 4-1, SHU cut the Ramblers' lead in half in the bottom of the third with a groundout RBI. Loyola had an immediate answer in
Allyson Ivey's gap-shot double that plated two and widened the lead to a steady 6-2. The Maroon and Gold kept swinging hot bats as
Jessica Shields added one more run in the top of the fifth with an RBI-single to center field.
Madison Veres stepped into the circle to relieve starter
Kiley Jones in the bottom of the sixth. The left-handed pitcher tossed two scoreless innings to finish off the 7-2 game one victory.
In game two against Hartford, the Ramblers look care of business quickly and earned its second run-rule victory of the weekend. The scoring began in the second with a
Nova Sinskul single down the line to bring Polaski around the bases.
Up 1-0, the major damage occurred in the bottom of the third that plated five. A
Shannon McGee triple got the big inning started and quickly doubled the lead to 2-0. With two outs, the Loyola bats went to work with a string of three straight hits, two of them triples by Polaski and
Brooke Wilson. The five-run, five-hit inning gave Loyola a commanding lead and plenty of run support for
Keenan Dolezal to work with.
After an uneventful inning in the top of the fourth, Loyola put the pressure on in the bottom half with two more runs off a McGee double and Ivey sac-fly. The 8-0 lead put the Ramblers in run-rule territory, which Dolezal allowed to come to fruition after a 1-2-3 top of the fifth to complete the Saturday sweep.
A Look at the Numbers
-Katie Polaski has now tallied 11 RBI this season to already exceed her total from a year ago.
-Jessica Shields swiped four more bases on Saturday (two each game), and now sits at 10 for the season.
-The 8-0 win vs. Hartford is the sixth shutout of the season and the fourth in the last five games.
-Allyson Ivey collected five RBI over the course of the two games, including three vs. Sacred Heart to tie her season-high.
Up Next
Loyola concludes the Runnin' Bulldog Softball Tournament with a 9 a.m. matchup with Oakland on Sunday. The Ramblers defeated the Grizzlies 10-0 in five innings in their previous matchup on Friday.
