In Short…
Loyola split its Saturday doubleheader with Southern Illinois, capturing the first game in walk-off fashion. On her birthday, Katie Kasubke blasted a full-count home run to left to give the Ramblers a 5-4 victory in game one.
 
Coach Tylka's Thoughts
"Any time you can play Southern Illinois, who's having a really good year, and get a split off them [is a good thing]," head coach Jeff Tylka said. "You don't want to focus too much on the things we didn't do well in the second game, rather focus on the positives we had in the first game, so overall I thought it was a good day.
 
How It Happened
Loyola ripped three runs off SIU early in game one to give the pitching staff initial run support. Katie Kasubke had the big blast in that inning with a double off the left field wall that brought home Shannon McGee. One batter later, Jordyn Cordell finished a six-pitch at-bat with an RBI-single that brought home two more and established a 3-0 lead.
 
The Salukis were quick to respond. Two runs in the second and third put the visitors in front at a 4-3 clip. Now facing a deficit, the red-hot Allyson Ivey connected on a single up the middle that tied up the score in the third.
 
The fans were treated to lights out pitching from Kiley Jones the rest of the way. The right-hander finished her game one with 5.2 scoreless innings without surrendering an earned run en route to earning the win. Jones didn't allow a Saluki to reach third base, and benefited from a key double play in the top of the eighth.
 
After the double play got the Ramblers back in the dugout, Kasubke stepped up to the plate with two outs and ended the game. The senior blasted her sixth home run of the season to give the Ramblers the 5-4 extra-innings victory.
 
The Ramblers were forced into catch up mode from the word go in game two. SIU scored two quick ones in the opening inning, and followed that up with a big third to extend the lead to 5-0.
 
Southern Illinois added one more in the fourth before the Ramblers got on the board. Now facing a 6-0 hole, Nova Sinskul got the Ramblers on the board with her first triple of the season that plated Cordell and Ivey. Abbey Jacobsen picked up an RBI the next at-bat to cut the deficit to three, suddenly making it a 6-3 contest.
 
However, the productive fourth inning was the only offense the Ramblers would muster in game two of the twin bill. SIU enjoyed a two-run inning in the fifth to re-take a five-run lead, a score that would hold the rest of the way. SIU salvaged the split with a 8-3 game two win.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-Allyson Ivey collected two hits in each game, rising her average to .454 on the season.
-Ivey has hit safely in her last four games, a stretch where she's hitting .600 (9-for-15). She now has 15 multi-hit games this season.
-The Ramblers surpassed 500 team total bases over the course of the two games.
-Jessica Shields took sole possession of second on the program's single-season runs list. She'll enter Wednesday with 39.
 
Up Next
Loyola will be on the road for the rest of the month, beginning with a midweek game at Valparaiso on April 24. First pitch for the single game with the Crusaders is thrown at 3 p.m.