LEADING OFF
Loyola Chicago (12-29, 7-10 A-10) takes a quick trip to Evanston, Ill. for a midweek Chicagoland matchup at Northwestern on Wednesday, April 16 at 12 p.m.
QUICK HITS
- In last weekend's series vs. Dayton, senior infielder Bella Crimaldi recorded her first homer of the season, and second of her career, in the opener on April 12, and rookie Alli Pawlowicz launched her fifth home run of the season in the finale.
- The Ramblers combined for 17 hits against the Flyers, with Crimaldi leading the charge on five hits throughout the weekend.
- Junior outfielder Sierra Sass leads the team in hits (36), and at the plate with a .353 BA. She ranks 11th in the country and first in the league in stolen base percentage (0.947). Sophomore utility Maddy Hickey is the team leader in RBIs with 19 and in on-base percentage (.423) while Pawlowicz leads the team in home runs (5).
- Senior pitcher Peyton Pepkowski ranks second in the A-10 and 52nd in the NCAA with 111 strikeouts.
- Pepkowski recorded her 600th career strikeout against Saint Joseph's (March 22), becoming just the second Rambler in program history to do so.
- Head coach Alicia Abbott clinched her 100th career win in the Maroon and Gold after Loyola defeated St. John's, 2-1, on Feb. 14 in walk-off fashion.
SCOUTING REPORT
The Wildcats are 20-15-1 overall and 9-4 in Big Ten play. Northwestern ranks 12th in the current conference standings and averages 0.278 at bat as a unit. Fifth year infielder Kaylie Avvisato is the team leader in hits (42) and in batting average (.368) while junior outfielder Kelsey Nader leads the Wildcats in runs (27) and in on-base percentage (.469). Kansas Robinson, a third-year infielder, has 29 RBIs this season.
Inside the circle, graduate student Lauren Boyd has the team-low 3.00 ERA and an 8-4 record through 72.1 innings pitched. Boyd has 69 strikeouts under her belt and one shutout.
SERIES HISTORY
Northwestern holds the series advantage 11-4 and has won the last six meetings against Loyola. Last season, the Wildcats bested the Ramblers 7-3 at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. Loyola is 2-8 in Evanston.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Stream the game on Big Ten Plus and follow softball on Instagram and Twitter/X @RamblersSB for in-game updates.
