CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago (8-24, 3-5 A-10) secured an Atlantic 10 series victory over Rhode Island on Saturday, March 29 at Loyola Softball Park. The Ramblers took the opener 6-1 then clinched the series with a 2-0 shutout in the second game.
"It was great to take the series away from today, and now we can go focus on, 'how do we go capture this sweep?' How do we clean up a few things offensively to make sure we can make some adjustments on pitchers we need to make adjustments on, how do we keep playing short defense, and how do we make sure our pitching staff can keep the ball in the park and continue to put zeros up on that board for as many innings as possible," said head coach Alicia Abbott.
Game One: Loyola 6, Rhode Island 1
Loyola's offense came alive in the series opener, plating four runs in the first inning. With Sierra Sass on third base and Riley Owens on second, Haley Wallace was at bat and reached first on fielder's choice before advancing to second and sending Sass home. Then Nat Lesnicki grounded out to second allowing Wallace to advance to third and Owens to score. Up next Maddy Hickey hit a sacrifice fly to right field and Wallace ran home. The first inning scoring was capped after Skyler Croker singled then advanced two bases on an error for Bella Crimaldi to add the fourth run.
After back-to-back scoreless innings, the Rams put their lone run up on the board in the fourth frame, but the Ramblers responded with two more in the bottom. Wallace added two more RBIs after she doubled to centerfield and sent two rookies home, Averi Vander Woude and Alli Pawlowicz. Peyton Pepkowski (3-16) earned the win for Loyola after a dominant performance in the circle, retiring seven batters, allowing four hits, one run and zero walks.
Inside the Box Score
- Wallace led the charge with three RBIs for a season-high while Lesnicki and Hickey each recorded one.
- Seven Ramblers accounted for Loyola's hits: Sass, Owens, Wallace, Crimaldi, Croker, Pawlowicz and Vander Woude.
- Pepkowski struck out seven batters for the second straight game and second overall this season.
Game Two: Loyola 2, Rhode Island 0
The Ramblers rode another strong pitching performance in game two and maintained their timely hitting and aggressive base-running from the opener. Andie Broniewicz (5-6) earned the win, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings and allowing four hits while striking out three. Hickey entered the circle for relief and retired the final two batters to secure the shutout.
Loyola opened scoring in the bottom of the fourth with Wallace sparking a rally on a leadoff triple then putting up a run after Lesnicki hit a sacrifice fly. Moments later, Crimaldi singled and came around to score on a bases-loaded walk by rookie Vander Woude.
Inside the Box Score
- Lesnicki recorded another RBI and Vander Woude added one.
- Wallace scored her 13th run of the season while Crimaldi recorded her eighth.
Up Next
The Ramblers are back at it against Rhode Island tomorrow, Sunday, March 30 for the series closer at 12 p.m. They head to St. Bonaventure in New York next weekend for another A-10 series.
