In Short
The Loyola University Chicago softball team swept George Mason, 12-0 and upended Sam Houston State, 8-6 today at the Bearkat Classic in Huntsville, Texas. The Ramblers improve to 6-3 overall and are 3-1 at the tournament.
 
Coach Alicia Abbott's Thoughts
"We had a great day from all three sides of our game between pitching, defense and hitting," Abbott said. "The no-hitter really set the tone for the day. Our bats came alive against Sam Houston State with 11 hits in that game. Our pitchers did a nice job of keeping their hitters off balance and securing the win for us."
 
How It Happened
 
Game One: Loyola 12, George Mason 0 (5 innings)
 
Madison Veres and Dani Brown threw a combined no-hitter in Loyola's victory over George Mason. The Ramblers were on the board early and often, scoring four runs in the top of the first. Jessica Shields and Madison Ebeling were able to score the first two runs on errors from the Patriots. Later, Katie Polaski singled to right field to drive in Shannon McGee for an RBI. Not slowing down, Caitlin Engelking singled and advanced to second on the throw, advancing Polaski to third and sending Allyson Ivey home.
 
In the top of the second, the Ramblers loaded the bases with zero outs, welcoming an Ivey single and runs from Ebeling and Shields to take a 6-0 lead. Polaski quickly added another single, allowing Shannon McGee to also score.
 
The Ramblers never faltered, as Shields doubled in the top of the third to drive Ebeling home, followed by Ivey's first home run of the season to give Loyola a 10-0 advantage. Loyola loaded the bases again, this time with two outs, and scored two more runs. Ivey singled for an RBI and Ebeling scored on George Mason's third error for the 12-0 win.
 
Game Two: Loyola 8, Sam Houston State 6
 
Sam Houston State opened the scoring with an RBI in the bottom of the first, but the Ramblers quickly responded. In the top of the second, Shields doubled down the right field line to advance Abbey Jacobsen to third base and score Emily Borg. Ebeling created an opportunity with yet another double to score Shields and Jacobsen for the 3-1 lead. The shortstop later scored on an error to enter the bottom of the third with a 4-1 advantage.
 
In the top of the fourth, Ebeling singled, followed by a McGee double to allow Ebeling to score for an RBI. The fifth inning was quiet, but both teams fired back in the sixth. Shields started it off with a walk, while Ebeling recorded her third single of the game. Up next was McGee, who was out on a sacrifice bunt but helped Ebeling advance to second and Shields to third. This brought back Ivey, who doubled and tallied two RBI for a 7-1 lead. Nova Sinskul finished out the inning with a single to score Abby Brown, who was pinch hitting for Ivey.
 
Sam Houston State wouldn't go quietly as they came back and scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back doubles to close the gap, 8-4. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Lions homered and brought in an RBI, but couldn't finish. 
 
A Look At The Numbers
- Madison Veres and Dani Brown combined for a no-hitter over George Mason and only allowed three walks total.
- Madison Ebeling recorded four runs against George Mason, the highest on the team thus far. 
- Allyson Ivey tied her career-high for the third time with five RBI's against George Mason and also tallied two against Sam Houston State.
 
Up Next
The Ramblers finish up the Bearkat Classic with a final re-match against tournament host Sam Houston State tomorrow at 12:15 p.m.