In Short…
Loyola rebounded for a 5-1 victory over UIC on Tuesday, April 2. The Ramblers got seven strong innings from Kiley Jones in the circle, while Shannon McGee and Allyson Ivey blasted back-to-back home runs in the third to power the offense.

Coach Tylka's Thoughts:
"I think the biggest thing for us today was the first inning. We got three quick outs, got in the dugout and got a run," head coach Jeff Tylka said. "Getting in front and having a lead makes things a little bit easier and allows the kids to take a breath.
 
How It Happened
The Ramblers got five runs on six hits in their midweek outing and got to work early in the first inning. Katie Kasubke's single to left brought home Jessica Shields to give Loyola an early lead to work with. The run was enough for starter Kiley Jones to work with in the contest, as she allowed just one earned in her complete-game victory.
 
Following the inherited 1-0 lead, Jones set down the Flames 1-2-3 and didn't allow another baserunner until he fourth inning. After a six-up, six-down sequence from the righty, Loyola had a big third inning to widen the lead even further for the team's ace. Shannon McGee led off the inning with her third home run of the season, a new single-season career high. The very next at-bat, Allyson Ivey hammered a pitch to left to extend the lead to 3-0, as well as her team-leading sixth big fly of the 2019 campaign.
 
The Ramblers weren't done. Two more runs scored on a Katie Polaski blast that found the outfield grass in right field. Two batters later, Madison Ebeling added one more with an opposite field single to bring home Nova Sinskul and widen the lead to 5-0.
 
Now with a large lead to work with, Jones kept the Flames off the scoreboard for the next three innings but struggled to keep them off the bases in the fourth. Despite the mid-outing jam, the Valparaiso, Indiana native worked around a bases-loaded situation and got two key outs to leave the bases loaded. A fielder's choice with a play at the plate and a ground out to second got the job done to preserve the 5-0 lead.
 
Jones breezed through the fifth and sixth innings by allowing just one hit over the course of those six outs. The Flames managed to avoid the shutout with an RBI-ground out in the seventh, but the Rambler starter extinguished any extended comeback hopes. Jones left the bases loaded again and sent the fans home happy as Loyola got back in the win column with a 5-1 triumph over UIC.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-After 3.1 innings of work, Kiley Jones passed Amy Solava for the second most career innings pitched in program history. She'll enter Wednesday with 592.
-Shannon McGee tallied her second straight multi-hit game, notching her second straight game with a home run in the process.
-Allyson Ivey's sixth home run of the season marked the second straight year she's reached that clip.
-Tuesday was the fourth time this season Loyola has clubbed two home runs in the same game.
 
 
Up Next
Loyola plays one more non-conference midweek game before returning to MVC play. The Ramblers head up to Northwestern to take on the Wildcats on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch at Drysdale Field is scheduled for 4 p.m.