In Short…
Loyola fell short to UNI in both games of the doubleheader on Saturday (May 4). Shannon McGee picked up a hit in each outing to increase her current hitting streak to five, while Allyson Ivey picked up her 60^th hit of the season in game one.
 
How It Happened
Northern Iowa drew first blood in the afternoon's twin bill with a two-run second inning in game one. A triple and an RBI-ground out resulted in the first multi-run inning for the Panthers.
 
The lead was cut in half during the Ramblers' turn to bat in the second frame. After falling behind 0-2, Abbey Jacobsen worked the count full and took a pitch the other way for an RBI-single. Nova Sinskul came around to score on the play for her 10^th run in MVC play this season.
 
Still with a 2-1 lead, UNI took control in the late innings. Another multi-run inning in the sixth, coupled by a tally in the surrounding innings extended the lead to 6-1. In the bottom of the seventh, Jordyn Cordell walked while Brooke Wilson and Jessica Shields singled after her, but the Ramblers couldn't cash in and dropped game one, 6-1.
 
Loyola had trouble solving Jaclyn Spencer from the circle in game two. Shannon McGee extended her hitting streak to five with a first inning single, but the Ramblers wouldn't get another hit off the lefty until the fifth when Nova Sinskul legged out an infield single to the pitcher.
 
Meanwhile the Panthers scored eight runs within the game's first three innings, and held the lead at 8-0 after five full innings of play to earn the game two win.
 
A Look at the Numbers
-Allyson Ivey is the eighth player in program history to register 60 hits in a season. She is now three hits shy of tying Becky Marx and Allison Scanlin for a share of the third most ever.
-Marx and Scanlin both collected their 63 base knocks in 2004, making 2019 the second time a Rambler duo has tallied 60-plus hits (Ivey and Shields).
-Ivey stayed on pace to break the conference record for batting average in a season, entering Sunday at a .455 clip. Her next hit will be the 100^th of her career.
-In addition to enjoying a personal best in the hit department, Ivey drew her 23^rd walk of the season in game two to surpass last year's total of 22. She has walked in three straight games for the first time in 2019.
 
Up Next
Loyola and UNI square off once more Sunday morning for one game beginning at 11 a.m. The tilt is the Ramblers annual Senior Day, with the five-person senior class that wears the Maroon and Gold set to be honored.