In Short…
The Loyola Chicago softball team got two monumental victories to start the Blues City Classic in Memphis, Tenn. The 4-3 win over UT-Martin in game one marked the program's 700^th all-time win, while the 12-0 run-rule triumph in game two was head coach Jeff Tylka's 100^th.
 
Coach Tylka's Thoughts
"Kiley [Jones] did a great job in a tough game to get us a few outs herself as we took a few innings to figure out their pitcher. We got big days from [Shannon] McGee, [Allyson] Ivey and [Nova] Sinskul offensively. The biggest at-bat came from Brooke Wilson with a pinch-hit, game-tying RBI in the sixth. That gave us some much needed life," head coach Jeff Tylka said. "It was a nice second game too, both with [Caitlin] Engelking hitting her first home run and [Allyson] Ivey hitting another. We took advantage of some mistakes, and I thought [Madison] Veres pitched well in relief.
 
How It Happened
In game one, both starting pitchers set their opposition down 1-2-3 in the first inning, with two of Kiley Jones' outs coming as swinging strikeouts. Despite the Skyhawks getting on the board first, the Ramblers responded their next time up to bat in the bottom of the second. Nova Sinskul singled up the middle to garner her seventh RBI of the season.
 
With the score tied at 1-1, Memphis retook the lead with a two-out, two-RBI single down the left field line that gave the Skyhawks the advantage at 3-1. UT-Martin threatened for more, but Jones did a good job limiting the damage by collecting her eighth strikeout to leave a pair of runners on.
 
The Maroon and Gold bats caught fire from the sixth inning on. Sinskul delivered another RBI-hit with a double in the gap that made it a one-run game. The clutch hitting continued the following hitter with a pinch-hit single by Brooke Wilson that brought Sinskul home and tied the game at 3-3.
 
The late-inning heroics continued into the seventh. Shannon McGee's double in the gap gave the Ramblers a runner in scoring position with just one out. One batter later, Allyson Ivey walked it off with a single up the middle that sealed the 4-3 victory.
 
Wilson's clutch hit in game one earned the start in game two. She delivered immediately with a double through the left side in the second at-bat of the game that put the Ramblers on top. After a productive out got her to third, Katie Kasubke brought her in with a safety-squeeze that doubled the score at 2-0.
 
The Ramblers blew it wide open in the top of the second by taking advantage of a pair of errors that widened the lead to 7-0. The five-run inning came in a stretch of four straight batters that began with Wilson's second RBI on a bases-loaded walk.
 
With Loyola ahead and in charge by the top of the fourth, the visiting team poured it on with another five-run inning that made it a 12-0 game. A McGee RBI-triple got the barrage started and was immediately followed by an Ivey home run to center. For the second game in a row, a pinch-hit move paid immediate dividends, this time Caitlin Engelking knocking her first career pitch over the fence. Four hits and five runs later the 12-0 cushion became enough for Loyola to run-rule Mississippi Valley State.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-Jones' 12 strikeouts marked the first time the Ramblers logged 10 or more as a team in a game since Feb. 12, 2017 vs. Fort Wayne.
-The 12-0 win over MVSU is the largest margin of victory in 2019 for the Ramblers.
-Madison Veres earned her career win in game two.
-The two home runs for the Maroon and Gold in game two tied the Akron game (Feb. 23) for the most the team has hit in a game this season.
 
Up Next
The Ramblers play one game on Saturday (March 2) for its first of two contests against Sam Houston State in the Blues City Classic. First pitch for the evening tilt will be thrown at 5:45 p.m.