MURRAY, Ky. (February 26, 2023) – Loyola (3-11) dropped a pair of non-conference contests Sunday at the Milkman Invitational, falling 6-4 to Ball State (5-5) and 2-0 to Miami (OH) (8-2) at Racer Field.
Game 1 // Ball State 6, Loyola 4
Loyola used timely hitting to build a 4-0 lead after three innings, but Ball State rallied with five runs in the fifth and tacked on an insurance run in the sixth to pull out the win.
Sydney Barnett recorded her second straight outing with two hits, and third in five games, which included a two-out RBI double in the first inning.
Haley Wallace scored the early go-ahead run after swiping her first stolen base of the season.
Madison Ebeling produced a run-producing single with two outs in the second inning, which plated
Abbie Gregus who reached via error and advanced on a sac bunt from
Ava Bieneman. Then, Gregus delivered another two-out knock in the third inning with a double down the right-field line. That plated a pair of runs after a sac bunt by
Sierra Sass moved the runners into scoring position.
Loyola starter
Peyton Pepkowski (4.0 IP, 4 K, 4 H, 2 BB) cruised through the first four frames, retiring the first nine of 10 batters she faced and striking out the side in the third. However, the right-hander couldn't recover from a leadoff single and walk in the fifth.
The Cardinals capitalized with back-to-back RBI hits to pull within a run. After
Bailey Johnson took over in the circle, Ball State put down a bunt single before catcher Jazmyne Armendariz stepped in next and sent a two-run double down the left-field line, giving the Cards their first lead of the contest at 5-4.
After the third inning, Loyola only had one base runner reach safely until a two-out single from Wallace in the seventh. Barnett was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat to put the tying run aboard, but the Ramblers couldn't get the final two-out knock they needed.
Ball State starter Angelina Russo (3-1) recorded eight strikeouts, allowing three earned runs on five hits and three walks.
Game 2 // Miami (OH) 2, Loyola 0
For the second day in a row,
Andie Broniewicz threw five shutout frames and found herself in a pitchers duel as the sophomore went toe-to-toe with Miami's Laurelai DePew.
Both teams had just four hits in the contest with Miami recording a pair of clutch RBI knocks in the bottom of the sixth.
Broniewicz went the distance in the circle, striking out a pair with one walk surrendered. Out of the 18 outs recorded, she induced 13 through the air on fly-ball outs. She worked out of a jam in the third inning by stranding a pair of runners after the Ramblers committed an error with two outs.
The RedHawks got a leadoff walk to start the rally in the sixth, before Kate Kobayashi (2 for 3) connected on the go-ahead single. Holly Blaska delivered a two-out double later in the inning. Kobayashi also tripled in her first at-bat.
Loyola got a leadoff single from
Amelia Thomas in the fourth and threatened with back-to-back singles in the fifth by
Jocelyn Currie and
Teagan Sopczak, but had nothing to show for it.
Tori Boysen had the other base knock for the Ramblers.
Thomas also reached on a walk to lead off the top of the sixth.
The Ramblers would end up stranding all five of their runners that reached base.
Miami's DePew struck out two and walked one in seven innings to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Up Next
Loyola will head to Southern Illinois next weekend with games scheduled against the host Salukis, Butler & UT Martin at Charlotte West Stadium located in Carbondale.
