CHICAGO (April 29, 2021) - After having Wednesday's scheduled doubleheader at Valparaiso washed out by rain, Loyola (10-24, 6-12 MVC) closes out a six-game road trip with a three-game series at Drake, May 1 and 2. The Ramblers, who have gone scoreless for the last 17 innings, have split their last eight contests.

Senior first baseman Allyson Ivey is batting .436 (34-for-78) with nine doubles, four home runs and 17 RBI over the last 26 contests. The right-handed hitter has hit safely in 21 of the last 26 contests, totaling 10 multi-hit efforts in that stretch, and has gone hitless in back-to-back games for just the second time this season.

Junior shortstop Madison Ebeling has hit safely in 16 of the last 18 games, including each of the last 10, and over the last 17 contests is 26-for-56 (.464) with a double, a triple, three home runs and seven RBI. Over the last 21 outings, the Bartlett, Ill., native has bumped her batting average nearly 200 points, from .152 to .340, by going 29-for-67 (.433). In her last seven road games, Ebeling is 12-for-21 (.571) with two dingers, three RBI and three stolen bases, hitting safely in all seven contests. Ebeling is hitting .439 (25-for-57), with a .492 on-base percentage, in Missouri Valley Conference play this spring.

Righthander Sydney Ruggles, who struck out a career-best 14 batters in a victory at Evansville on March 20, has found a groove in her last four starts, tabulating a 1.38 ERA. The junior has tossed 20.1 innings and allowed only 16 hits and four earned runs, while striking out 26 hitters, in her last four appearances.

Amelia Thomas has hit safely in six of the Ramblers' last seven contests and during that stretch, is batting .300 (6-for-20) with three RBI and three walks. Thomas had a two-run home run wiped away in Wednesday's canceled doubleheader at Valparaiso. 

Loyola – Drake – The Series

Since joining the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2014 campaign, Loyola has struggled against the Drake, going 3-15 against the Bulldogs. In fact, since the 2017 season, the Ramblers are 1-8 against Drake and have been out-scored, 50-8. Loyola has paid Buel Field three visits since joining The Valley, but is winless in nine tries there, and has seen the Bulldogs put up a 63-7 advantage on the scoreboard in Des Moines. When the teams last met, in 2019 at Buel Field, Drake rolled to a three-game series sweep, blanking the Ramblers in all three contests, while putting up 21 runs.

Scouting Drake

Drake had a modest three-game winning streak broken up with a 13-5 loss at Northern Iowa Wednesday afternoon and is averaging 7.5 runs per contest over its last four outings. The Bulldogs have claimed four of their last five games at Buel Field, but are only 6-8 on their home turf this spring. The top of the Drake order has done a ton of damage, with center fielder Macy Johnson batting .477 (61-for-128) with 36 runs scored and 27 stolen bases, while shortstop Libby Ryan is batting .352 (37-for-105) with five homers and 18 RBI. In the circle, righthander Nicole Timmons is 7-10 with a 3.78 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 105.2 innings. 

Up Next

Loyola wraps up the 2021 regular season next week when it hosts Indiana State in a three-game series, May 7 and 8.