TUCSON, Ariz. (March 5, 2022) – The Loyola University Chicago softball team was back in action again today, March 5, as they took on the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota and the Broncos of Boise State. After competing in this second day of the Wildcat Invitational, the Ramblers finished with a 1-1 record, securing a win over North Dakota and losing to a tough Boise State team.
GAME 1: RAMBLERS VS FIGHTING HAWKS
This contest started off slow for both teams, but ended in favor of the Ramblers. Loyola came out with seven runs in this game, bringing multiple Ramblers home. Rounding the bases twice was
Nova Sinskul. The senior made it home in the fourth inning on an error by North Dakota. She also contributed another run following a triple from
Teagan Sopczak,
Making their rounds with Sinskul was Sopczak,
Madison Ebeling,
Ava Bieneman,
Amelia Thomas and
Riley Owens. To go with their runs, Ebeling, Sopczak, Thomas and Bieneman each had an RBI. Along with these offensive plays, the Ramblers had four triples during this game. Two of those came from Thomas while the others came from Sopczak and Ebeling. Ebeling continued with her great performance by stealing a base.
From the mound, freshman
Peyton Pepkowski secured the second shutout of her career as the Fighting Hawks scored no runs during this game. She struck out nine batters in the process.
When it came to fielding, the Ramblers made no errors.
Abbey Jacobsen and Thomas had the most putouts on the day with seven. Ebeling helped on the most plays with two assists.
GAME 2: RAMBLERS VS BRONCOS
Shortly after their game against North Dakota, the Ramblers hit the field again to take on a strong team in Boise State. These teams left the first inning scoreless, but that didn't last for long. The Broncos' offense lit up in the second inning as they grabbed three runs. They continued their scoring efforts from there, adding another run the third to make the score 4-0 by the end of the third.
The Ramblers were able to get on the board because of Ebeling. She registered her first home run of the season and seventh of her career in the sixth inning. But it wasn't enough to bring them back in the game as the Broncos scored three more runs in the seventh to give Loyola a 7-1 loss.
The defense for Loyola played tough as they had a total 21 putouts with six of those coming from Thomas. Also helping a lot on defense was Jacobsen with four putouts while Ebeling, Sinskul and
Haley Wallace each had two assists.
On the mound,
Sydney Ruggles started the game while
Andie Broniewicz came in during the third inning.
UP NEXT
The Ramblers will be back in action tomorrow, March 6, as they take on No. 9 Arizona and RV Iowa State. Loyola will play the Wildcats at 2 p.m. followed by the Cyclones at 4 p.m. A live stream will be available for the game against the Wildcats on the Pac-12 Network while the game against the Cyclones will be on FloSoftball. Live stats will also be available for both games.
