CHICAGO (February 11, 2021) – After having its season halted by the COVID-19 pandemic nearly a year ago, the Loyola University Chicago softball program finally takes the field again for game action this weekend when it competes in the DePaul Dome Tournament at The Dome in Rosemont. While in Rosemont this weekend, the Ramblers will take on Kansas City (Feb. 12), Western Illinois (Feb. 13, Feb. 14) and DePaul (Feb. 13).
 
Second-year head coach Alicia Abbott's club is coming off a 12-9 season in 2020, the program's first winning campaign since going 27-26 in 2017. The Ramblers have fared well when playing at The Dome in Rosemont, going 22-11 there since the 2014 season.
 
Loyola lost two key pieces from its outfield due to the graduation of Shannon McGee (.356, 7 2B, 13 RBI) and Jessica Shields (.386, 14 stolen bases), but Abbott can call upon a handful of veterans to lead a young squad, including 2019 First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference first baseman Allyson Ivey, who is a .367 career hitter and as a sophomore was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region pick after hitting a school and Valley-record .460.
 
Scouting Kansas City
Last spring, the Kangaroos posted a 6-13 ledger and sported a team earned-run average of 5.50. Gone is leading hitter from a year ago, Chyanne Onstad, who hit .365 with three home runs and seven RBI, but first baseman Delainey Fenoglio heads up the crop of returnees and is coming off an abbreviated 2020 campaign in which she batted .357 (15-for-42).
 
Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois also went 6-13 in 2020, and although it hit just .224 as a team a year ago, got a productive season from outfielder Alyssa Ealy, who hit .362 (21-for-58) and swiped nine bases. Current Loyola assistant coach Beth Golitko spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the head coach at Western Illinois and sophomore Tori Boysen played the 2020 season with the Leathernecks and batted .212 (7-for-33) with two doubles, a home run and five RBI. Golitko was a standout student-athlete at WIU, and hit .326 with nine homers and 81 RBI in her four-year career in Macomb.
 
Scouting DePaul
Miranda Gutierrez and Gabby O'Riley lead a DePaul unit that notched an 8-12 ledger last spring and is a perennial contender in the Big East Conference.  Senior Krista Dalgarn had a solid season in the pitching circle, going 4-3 with a 3.26 ERA. 
 
Up Next
Loyola heads to Nashville for a doubleheader versus Belmont on February 26.