Loyola's women's softball team got their first taste of what the top competition is going to be like in the Horizon League this year, dropping two out of three games on last weekend's road trip to Valparaiso.
"We knew this would be a tough series," head coach Yvette Healy said. "Valparaiso is a ranked team in our region so you [need] to be ready to play when you come out and face them."
Loyola dropped the first two games of the series on Saturday before coming back and winning the finale on Sunday, backed by a great outing from sophomore pitcher Amy Solava.
In game one, Loyola jumped out to an early lead after freshman catcher Jena Grim's solo home run in the second inning. The Ramblers added to the lead in the third after freshman Haley Ambrosch doubled and then scored on a double steal, putting Loyola up 2-0 after the third inning.
Loyola held the lead for the next two innings with Solava in control at the mound, surrendering just one hit over four innings. Solava seemed in control until two outs in the fifth inning, when a two-out double by Valparaiso scored the first run of the game.
The rout was on after that, as Valparaiso scored five runs in the fifth off of four hits and one error and tacked on two more runs in the sixth to seal the game and give the Ramblers their second Horizon League loss of the season, 7-3.
In game two of the doubleheader, it was the same story as Valparaiso grabbed the lead for good in the fifth inning. With the game tied at 1-1, a Valparaiso RBI-double was all Valparaiso needed as the Ramblers did not score again.
"We had some miscues and a few errors that just went the other team's way," Healy said. "We can't make mistakes against a good team like Valparaiso because they will make you pay."
On Sunday, it was a different story for Loyola as Solava took the mound once again. Timely hitting and dominating pitching gave Loyola the 1-0 to take a game from Valparaiso on its home field.
All the Ramblers' hits came from the three seniors batting in the 7-9 spots of the lineup.
Senior Lindsay O'Gean's double to center field scored senior Kat Krause, who had reached base on a bunt, to score the only run of the game.
"Lindsay really stepped up in the last game," Healy said. "We challenged the seniors to step up and get a rally going and she really delivered along with Kat Krause. It shows that we have a lot of versatility when our power hitters can step and slap hitters can switch spots like Lindsay and Kat did. Also being two seniors, it was really exciting to see."
One run was enough for Solava, who pitched a five-hit complete-game shutout to record her seventh win of the year. The sophomore worked herself out of one-out situations with a runner on third twice.
"We showed a lot of toughness to come back after two tough losses and win the third game," Healy said. "The team came out motivated after losing two hard-fought ball games and played really well. It also helped that our seniors stepped up and delivered in key spots."
Loyola is now 10-15 overall and 5-3 in conference play. They will be back in action this Thursday at Wisconsin Green Bay.
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