CHICAGO (March 13, 2019) – The Loyola University Chicago softball team ends its 11-day layoff from game action with a road trip to Missouri to play four games in four days. The slate begins with one game at Saint Louis (March 14), followed by the beginning of conference play against the Missouri State Bears (March 16-17). This is the first season the Ramblers will open MVC play against the Bears.
Last Time Out: Loyola was last in action March 1-2 in the Blues City Classic. Playing two games on each day, the Ramblers went 2-2 on the weekend, sweeping its Friday doubleheader but dropping both contests to Sam Houston State that Saturday.
Allyson Ivey continued her hot streak at the plate. The first baseman slashed .400/.438/1.067 in her four games played. In collecting hits in each outing, the she extended her hitting streak to six games. The sophomore led the Ramblers in slugging percentage (1.067), total bases (16), hits (6), RBI (6) and runs scored (5). The Hamilton, Ohio, native has also homered in each of her last three games, becoming the first Rambler to do so since 2015.
A Look at the Billikens: Saint Louis, picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10, enters the midweek matchup 2-15 on the season. The offensive lineup is the Billikens' strong suit, boasting three players with batting averages over .300 through 17 games played. Kat Lane leads that list at .357, while Sadie Wise holds the team leads in hits (17), total bases (22) and OPS (.849). Thursday is the Billikens' home opener. They went 5-12 last season at Billikens Sports Center.
A Look at the Bears: Missouri State, also picked fourth in the preseason conference poll, enter Thursday winners in six of its last seven contests. Kyana Mason paces the Bears with a .409 batting average that is good for 10th in the conference. Along with Loyola, Missouri State is one of three MVC teams to rank in the top half of batting average and ERA with a team clip of .294 and 3.06 respectively. The Bears play SEMO today (March 13) prior to the Ramblers being the next team on their schedule.
Series Stuff: Loyola has faced Saint Louis 11 times (SLU leads the series, 6-5), but Thursday will be its first meeting since 2013. The Ramblers upended the Billikens in their first meeting back in 1985, and later won four straight over parts of 1994-2010 – outscoring them 31-7 in that stretch. The Ramblers' first season in the Missouri Valley Conference back in 2014 marked the first meeting versus the Bears. Since the programs began playing regularly, MSU holds a 9-4 head-to-head series advantage.
Up Next: The Maroon and Gold gear up for its second MVC series in Evansville, Ind. for a weekend clash with the Evansville Purple Aces. The series marks the third straight season the institutions will square off in the month of March.
#OnwardLU
