CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago heads back to Florida for another jam-packed weekend of tournament play. Sitting at 5-1 after the first two weeks, the Ramblers will face five new opponents at the South Florida Showdown.
 
Weekend Schedule
Friday – 1 p.m. CT – vs. Washington
Friday – 6 p.m. CT – at South Florida
Saturday – 10:30 a.m. CT – vs. Oklahoma State
Saturday – 3:30 p.m. CT – vs. Yale
Sunday – 9 a.m. CT – vs. Pitt
 
Quick Hits
• The Ramblers improved to 5-1 after last weekend's action. They won their first five games before falling to No. 16 Florida on the road.
• It's the best start to a season since 2017 when Loyola opened the year 14-0.
• Loyola earned its second shutout of the season in the opening game at the Bubly Invitational. The Ramblers took down College of Charleston, 4-0.
• Helping the Ramblers to the shutout was Sydney Barnett who hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth to plate all four runs.
• Peyton Pepkowski was in the circle for her first shutout of the year and third win. She struck out three batters.
• Though the first six games, Ava Bieneman leads Loyola at the plate batting .353. She has six hits, including a triple, and tallied one RBI and five runs.
• Riley Owens is also batting over .300 at .313 through five games. She has five hits for Loyola.
• Head coach Alicia Abbott is in her fourth season at the helm. She has 74 career wins at the helm.
 
Scouting Washington
The Huskies sit at No. 4 in the NFCA Coaches Poll after beginning their season 7-1. Washington took down No. 17 Nebraska in the season opener, 5-0 in five innings. The Huskies also took the reigning national champion and No. 1 Oklahoma squad to extra innings, ultimately falling, 4-3. Since the loss to the Sooners, Washington is on a four-game win streak, which includes an 8-1 decision over No. 18 Kentucky.
 
Brooklyn Carter leads the Huskies batting .438 this season. She has 14 hits, nine runs, and two RBI. She is also 9-10 on stolen bases. In the circle, Ruby Meylan has made two starts and five appearances. She leads Washington with a .66 ERA. Meylan is 3-1 with one shutout, one save, and 25 strikeouts over 21.1 innings of work.
 
Scouting South Florida
The Bulls sit at 7-3 and were one a four-game win streak before falling 4-3 to Purdue in their final game last weekend. South Florida downed Kansas, UIC, and Boston College during the four-game streak. The Bulls also have a gritty 1-0 shutout over a Michigan squad that was receiving votes in the preseason poll.
 
Alanah Rivera leads the Bulls batting .474 through eight games. She has nine hits, including a double and homer. Rivera also has a team-leading seven RBI. She tallied her homer and three RBI against Kansas. Peyton Dixon leads the team with a 1.25 ERA. She's 3-1 with a team-high 20 strikeouts.
 
Scouting Oklahoma State
The Cowgirls rank No. 7 in the NFCA Coaches Poll after opening the year 7-2. Earlier this week, they upset No. 14 Florida, 3-0. Oklahoma State also handed UCLA a 9-1 loss in five innings, which was the fifth win of a 5-0 stretch to open the 2024 slate.
 
Tallen Edwards is batting .480 over nine starts. She has 12 hits, including four doubles and two home runs. Edwards has nine RBI and 10 runs scored. She tallied three of her doubles at UC Riverside. Lexi Kilfoyl has eight appearances in the circle for the Cowgirls and holds a 1.81 ERA. She sits at 4-2 with 16 strikeouts over 19.1 innings.
 
Scouting Yale
Yale will open their 2024 slate this weekend at the South Florida Showdown. Yale was tabbed third in the Ivy League Preseason Poll and received one first-place vote behind Princeton and Harvard who took first and second, respectively. Yale finished last season 20-23 overall and 11-10 in league play.
 
Yale is led by captain Carolyn Skotz. She started all 43 games last season and was first on the team in runs scored (29) and fourth in the Ivy League, as well as first on the team and in the Ivy in walks with (29), and fifth in the conference in on-base percentage.
 
Scouting Pitt
The Panthers sit at 5-4 heading into the weekend action. The year opened with a 5-0 shutout over Memphis. They also picked up back-to-back wins over East Tennessee State. Pitt was tabbed 13^th in the ACC Preseason Softball Poll ahead of the 2024 season taking off. The Panthers went 24-25 last year and 6-17 in ACC action.
 
Kat Rodriguez is leading the Panthers at the plate batting .346. She has nine hits, including two doubles. Rodriguez has four RBI and five runs. She's also 3-4 on stolen bases. In the circle, Kyra Pittman holds a 3-1 record over five appearances. Pittman has a 1.66 ERA and seven strikeouts over 25.1 innings of work.