ROSEMONT, Ill. (February 12, 2021)
In Short
Lia Lombardini's two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning spoiled a solid effort from Loyola University Chicago (0-1) starting pitcher
Sydney Ruggles, as Kansas City (1-0) rallied for a 3-2 victory today in the season opener for both teams in the DePaul Dome Tournament at The Dome in Rosemont.
How It Happened
Ruggles worked her way out of jams routinely, including in the second, fifth and sixth innings, stranding two Kangaroos runners in each of those frames.
Loyola was able to crack the scoreboard first, plating a run in the top of the fourth inning on
Nova Sinskul's two-out single to right center. Sinskul's hit scored
Katie Polaski, who led off with a single, moved to second on wild pitch and stole third before scampering home on SInskul's single.
That appeared to be all Ruggles would need on the day, but Alexis D'Ambrosio had a flair for the dramatic, crushing a solo home run to left field with Kansas City down to its final strike in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.
The Ramblers stole back momentum and reclaimed the lead in the top of the eighth on
Tori Boysen's fielder's choice groundout that scored
Hannah Nalley, who opened the inning on second base due to the international tie-breaker rule.
Unfortunately, Loyola was unable to make that lead stand in the bottom half of the inning, with Lombardini's lead-off roundtrippper providing the difference.
A Look at the Numbers
- Ruggles was a hard-luck pitcher today, scattering eight hits and fanning four in 7.0 innings of work.
- Sinskul accounted for half of the Ramblers' hits on the day, going 2-for-4 with a RBI.
- Lombardini ripped three hits, including the game-winning blast in extras to pace the Kansas City attack, while winning pitcher Mia Hoveland struck out 13 Ramblers.
Up Next
Loyola continues play at the DePaul Dome Tournament tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. CT when it meets Western Illinois.