CHICAGO (April 2, 2022) -- The Loyola University Chicago softball team will host its first home series of the season as they welcome the University of Evansville Purple Aces. As the Missouri Valley Conference season plays out, the Ramblers are in seventh while the Aces are in fifth. 

LAST TIME OUT
Prior to this series, the Ramblers traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to take on the No. 25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who they lost to in five innings. The last conference series Loyola played in was against Southern Illinois. After three games, the Ramblers came out 0-3, starting off the Valley with a 2-4 record. 

ATTACKING THE ACES
Evansville comes into this matchup above the Ramblers in the standings as they are currently fifth in the Valley. They had a strong  start to the season with an 18-10 record, playing top teams like Virginia Tech and Alabama. 

The Purple Aces' pitching staff has been crucial for them this season, especially Izzy Vetter. She ranks in the top 50 in four different pitching categories: victories (9th), shutouts (21st), strikeouts (25th) and hits allowed per seven innings (38th). She is tied with Loyola's Pepkowski in shutouts with four. 

Along with Vetter's personal accomplishments, the pitching staff as a whole has done a lot for this team. They have a combined 2.97 ERA with 165 strikeouts on the season. Vetter has the most individually with 127. 

Two players have above a .300 batting average for Evansville, and they are Jessica Fehr and Alexa Davis. The two boast .345 and .300 batting averages, respectively. Marah Wood is also a big part of the Aces' offense as she leads the team in home runs with four. 

The Aces only have a .959 team fielding percentage, which is higher than those of the opponents they faced this season. Only one regular starter still has a perfect percentage, and that is Weatheford.

WHEREABOUTS
All three games will take place at Loyola Softball Park in Chicago. Two games will be played on Sunday with one game on Monday, both of which will begin at noon. Live streams and live stats will be available for all three games.