CHICAGO (April 12, 2019) – Winners of five straight and six of the last seven, the Loyola Chicago softball team heads west to Des Moines, Iowa to collide with the conference's first place team in Drake University. The Ramblers enter the three-game set on its longest winning streak of the season since Indiana handed them their first loss of the season back on Feb. 22. This weekend is the earliest in the conference season the two institutions have played since 2016 when they competed in an April 10 doubleheader back in 2016. The series begins with a noon-hour doubleheader start time on Saturday (April 13), and finishes with one game on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
 
Last Time Out: Loyola took both games of its midweek doubleheader against Valparaiso back on April 9, one in a close game and another in a five-inning run-rule triumph. Kiley Jones got the start in game one and earned her 10th complete game victory of the season in the 4-2 win to improve to 11-6 on her senior campaign. The bats exploded for nine runs in game two and ran away with the nightcap to the tune of a 9-1 win. Allyson Ivey added three of her five RBI that day in game two to push her season total to 43, putting her one shy of tying the single-season program record set by Becky Marx in 2004. In her last four games, Ivey is 9-for-11 (.818 batting average) with one home run, four doubles and 11 RBI.
 
A Look at the Bulldogs: Drake, picked to win the MVC, enters the weekend with a 12-1 record through its first 13 conference games. Already with two perfect games under her belt this season, the Bulldogs' ace Nicole Newman leads the conference in numerous statistics. The righty sits on top of the MVC in ERA (1.19), opposing batting average (.124), strikeouts (233), and is two thirds of an inning off the MVC lead with 129.1. She is the reigning four-time defending MVC Pitcher of the Week, and has captured six thus far in 2019. Offensively Drake ranks second in the conference in runs (196), doubles (51) and on-base percentage (.396).
 
Series Stuff: The Bulldogs hold a 12-5 advantage in the head-to-head series since Loyola joined the MVC, and a 14-6 edge overall. The Ramblers handed Drake its only conference loss of the season last year with a 3-0 shutout at Loyola Softball Park. Kiley Jones was dominant in the circle that afternoon, pitching a two-hit shutout and setting down a season-high nine batters on strikes.
 
Up Next: The Maroon and Gold return to the state of Illinois for their next matchup and get together with the Northern Illinois Huskies for a midweek clash on the road. The April 17 doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. at Mary M. Bell Field.

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