In Short…
A four-run fifth inning by Northwestern made the difference in Loyola's 5-1 loss on Wednesday (April 3) at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The Ramblers got another quality start from
Kiley Jones, who threw 6.0 innings while surrendering just one earned run.
How It Happened
Loyola got an early run with an
Allyson Ivey sacrifice-fly that brought home
Jessica Shields and gave the visitors a first-inning lead for the second straight outing. The tally was the 20
th first inning run for the Ramblers.
Diving stops from Shields and
Katie Polaski took away Wildcat hits and allowed Jones to log a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second. Jones recorded another three-up, three-down inning in the third to carry a no-hitter into the fourth. However, the no-no and the shutout vanished when the Wildcats plated one late in that inning to tie things up at 1-1.
The Wildcats broke through big-time in a fifth inning that ended up being the difference in the game. The Ramblers were one out away from escaping a bases-loaded jam, but a fielding error cleared the bases and put Northwestern up 4-1. NU added one more with an RBI-single the next at-bat to extend the lead to 5-1.
The Ramblers strung together a two-out rally in the sixth inning and brought the tying run to the plate. However, Wildcat relief pitcher Morgan Newport got a key punchout to leave the bases loaded and hold on to the 5-1 lead.
Jones logged another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the sixth to notch her eighth complete game of the season, but the Ramblers were retired in order during the top of the seventh. Northwestern secured the Wednesday afternoon contest by a final score of 5-1.
A Look at the Numbers
-
Shannon McGee has logged an extra-base hit in three straight games, tying her previous season high for that criteria.
-McGee's first inning double was her 10
th of the season, marking the third straight year she's posted double-digit two-baggers. She's one shy of her single-season career high of 11 back in 2017.
-Wednesday was
Kiley Jones' 10
th start this season of allowing one earned run or fewer.
-Jones will enter Saturday two innings shy of 600 for her career and 100 this season.
Up Next
The Ramblers return to Loyola Softball Park and Missouri Valley Play with a three-game series against Indiana State. The clash with the Sycamores begins with a noon-hour doubleheader on April 6, and one game at 11 a.m. the next day.