In Short…
Loyola split its Friday slate with a hard-fought loss to No. 19 Indiana and a run-rule victory over Mercer. In the nightcap, Katie Kasubke racked up a season-high four RBI.
 
Coach Tylka's Thoughts
"We played a very good Indiana team and were right there. We had runners on multiple times but couldn't get the big hit. Kiley [Jones] pitched well again, but unfortunately we couldn't score a few runs for her," head coach Jeff Tylka said. "In game two, we bounced back. It was a total team effort at the plate, while Shannon McGee and Katie Kasubke really sparked us offensively."
 
How It Happened
One fourth inning home run was the difference in Loyola's 1-0 loss to Indiana in game one. Starter Kiley Jones delivered another credible outing with a 6-inning complete game effort with four strikeouts.
 
The Ramblers got two hits from Allyson Ivey and another from Jordyn Cordell, but were unable to plate anybody. The outing was Ivey's third multi-hit game of the season. Loyola had a runner in scoring position in each of the last three innings but were unable to tie the game up and dropped its Friday opener, 1-0.
 
As the sun started to fall over Sikes Field for game two, the Ramblers' bats went to work early with two quick runs in the first against Mercer. An RBI-single and double from Shannon McGee and Katie Kasubke gave the visitors a two-run lead.
 
Loyola tacked on another in the top of the second with a sacrifice-fly from Madison Ebeling. With a 3-0 lead, the runs continued to cross the plate for the Ramblers in their third turn to bat. McGee's leadoff double got a runner in scoring position right away, setting the table for Kasubke's rope down the left field line that cleared the fence. Two batters later, Nova Sinskul recorded an RBI and later scored herself to widen the Ramblers' lead to seven after three and a half innings.
 
After another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the third from starter Keenan Dolezal, Loyola kept adding on the runs and putting themselves in run-rule territory. The red-hot Kasubke picked up her fourth RBI of the contest with a sacrifice-fly, followed by Sinskul's season-high-tying second RBI of the game with an infield single.
 
Up 9-0, Madison Veres entered the circle to get the last six outs and end the game after five. After a runner reached second in the sixth, Veres got a three-up-three-down inning on ground-outs in the seventh to finish the job and ink the 9-0 win.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-Katie Kasubke's four RBI in the Mercer game set a new season-high.
-Kasubke's RBI total put her at 10, becoming the second Rambler to crack double-digits this season.
-Keenan Dolezal picked up the win in game two to improve to 5-0 on the season. She will enter tomorrow having faced exactly 100 batters on the season.
-Shannon McGee's three-hit performance against Mercer improved her batting average to .412 this season. Her three hits against the Bears set a new season-high.
 
Up Next
Loyola resumes the Mercer Black and Orange Challenge with a pair of morning tilts on Saturday (Feb. 23). The Ramblers tangle with North Carolina A&T State at 9 a.m. CT, followed by Akron approximately 20 minutes after the conclusion of the game with the Aggies.