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Live Stats: UT-Martin | MVSU | Sam Houston St. (Sat.) | Sam Houston St. (Sun.) | Memphis
 
CHICAGO (February 28, 2019) – The Loyola University Chicago softball team plays its final non-conference tournament of the regular season this weekend (March 1-3) in Memphis, Tenn. as one of five teams in the Blues City Classic, hosted by the University of Memphis. The Ramblers are matched up against UT-Martin, Mississippi Valley State, Sam Houston State (twice) and the host team Tigers throughout the weekend.
 
Last Time Out: The Ramblers went 3-2 last time out in the Mercer Black and Orange Challenge, with all three wins via the run-rule. In the wins, Loyola outscored its opponents by a 28-2 margin, and finished the tournament with a +23 run differential throughout all five games. Leading the offensive attack was outfielder Shannon McGee's .571/.611/1.071 slash line. She also notched team-highs in runs (8) and extra-base hits (4) in the Ramblers' five contests. In the circle, the Ramblers' pitchers surrendered just four runs to maintain their NCAA-leading 0.56 ERA. Keenan Dolezal paced the Ramblers with 14 strikeouts, including a nine-whiff performance vs. NC A&T St. (Feb. 23) that set a new career high.
 
A Look at the Skyhawks: The Skyhawks enter the weekend at an 8-4 clip and four days removed from a doubleheader split with Saint Louis University. The team has four players hitting over .400, including catcher Kenna Garst's .450 average. The Rambler pitcher and catchers will have their work cut out for them in controlling the run game, as UT-Martin has stolen 32 bases this year – equating to 2.67 steals per game to rank 10^th nationally.
 
A Look at the Devilettes: Mississippi Valley State, picked to finish fourth in the SWAC East, hold a 1-9 record to begin the year but won its most recent game at Grambling State. The team has clubbed a high amount of extra-base hits, ranking third in the conference for doubles per game. The Devilettes bring two hitters into the weekend with 15 or more total bases in Deshonte Smith (16) and Dejanae Gage (15).
 
A Look at the Kats: Sam Houston State has played four games against nationally ranked teams this season, and wraps up its first portion of non-conference play in the Blues City Classic. Leading the Kats' pitching it the 1-2 punch of Regan Dunn and Lindsey McLeod, ranking fourth and ninth in the Southland Conference in strikeouts with 30 and 21 respectively. McLeod was named Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team and is a season removed from breaking the program record for single-season strikeouts with 222.

A Look at the Tigers: Loyola will see the host-institution Memphis Tigers last and will be tasked with slowing down Bailey Smith. The utility player is fifth in the AAC in batting average (.441) and second in slugging percentage (.853). As a team the Tigers rank in the top half of the conference in power metrics such as fourth in slugging percentage (.363) and tied for third in triples (4). Yesterday's contest versus Mississippi State ended a 13-game stretch away from home to begin the season, and kick-started a 10-game homestand for the Tigers that Loyola will be a part of.
 
Series Stuff: Loyola will see Mississippi Valley State and Sam Houston State for the first time in the weekend clash. The Ramblers and Tigers squared off once before back in 2010, a neutral-site contest that Memphis took by a low score of 2-1. UT-Martin represents this weekend's opponent Loyola has seen the most, but are 0-3 all-time against the Skyhawks, last playing in 2006.
 
Up Next: As Spring Break looms for the University, the Ramblers will remain on the road to take on the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks for a March 5 doubleheader. The first midweek contest of the season for Loyola begins at 2 p.m., with game two following approximately 20 minutes after game one.
 
#OnwardLU