CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago softball wraps up its non-conference slate Tuesday afternoon with a game at Northwestern. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Evanston. The Ramblers are coming off a 3-2 week of play, while the Wildcats are on an eight-game win streak.
 
Quick Hits
• Loyola played a five-game schedule last week with a split at Bradley and a series win over George Mason.
• The Ramblers dropped a close battle with the Braves in game one (2-1) before rallying in extra innings in game two (4-3). Against the Patriots, the Ramblers had a walk-off in the seventh of game one (4-3) and a walk-off in the eighth of game two (6-5).
• Over the five games, Riley Owens led the Ramblers at the plate batting .385. She tallied five hits, including a double and triple. Owens scored three times and brought in three runs.
• Sydney Barnett had a dominant week at the plate hitting .353. She recorded five hits, including two doubles, one triple and two homers. Barnett led the team with eight RBI and scored three times.
• In the circle, Peyton Pepkowski made three starts. She picked up a win and struck out 24 batters over 19.1 innings. Pepkowski recorded 10 in her game one win over the Patriots.
• Freshman pitched Maddy Hickey picked up her first career win in the circle helping Loyola down the Patriots in extras of game three. 
• Overall, Ava Bieneman leads Loyola batting .344. She also has a team-high 32 hits. Bieneman sits 10^th in the league in batting average, while she is tied third in hits.
• Barnett has 31 RBI this season ranking third in the A-10. Her eight homers ranks second.
• Following her 24-strikeout week, Pepkowski moved to first in the A-10 with 82 strikeouts this year. She has 23 strikeouts looking, which is tied first in the conference.
• Head coach Alicia Abbott is in her fifth season at the helm. She has 83 wins with the Ramblers.
 
Scouting Northwestern
The Wildcats are on an eight-game win streak heading into Tuesday's meeting and sit at 16-7 overall. Northwestern is 5-0 on its home turf with wins over Michigan State, UIC, and DePaul. Northwestern has the best pitching unit in the Big Ten with a combined 1.84 ERA.
 
Kansas Robinson leads the Wildcats batting .471 this season. She has a team-best 32 hits, including six doubles, one triple and six homers, which are also all team-highs. Robinson has the most runs scored (18) and RBI (20). Ashley Millers holds a 0.85 ERA over 16 appearances. She sits at 7-3 in the circle with four saves, and 92 strikeouts.
 
Kate Drohan is in her 23^rd season leading the Wildcats and has a 761-420 record.