This past weekend's 40 degree temperatures and brisk winds hardly seemed like ideal conditions for softball. Loyola's women's softball team, however, seemed to embrace the conditions with an offensive explosion against Horizon League opponent Youngstown State.
Loyola swept the weekend series with the Penguins in impressive fashion, outscoring their opponents 25-2 over the three-game series.
The Ramblers got their bats going early, scoring four runs in the first inning of game one, all with two outs on RBI singles by sophomore Angie Funston and freshman Jenna Grim to give the Ramblers a 2-0 lead. Senior Kat Krause added to the advantage with a two-run home run, putting Loyola up four runs after the first.
Four runs was all Loyola pitcher sophomore Amy Solava needed as she pitched five innings giving up just one run and striking out eight batters. She recorded her fifth win of the season.
The Ramblers continued to stretch the lead, adding one run in the third and two in the fourth to put them up 7-1. Back-to-back RBI doubles by freshman Haley Ambrosch and senior Katie Duffy ended the game by the Mercy Rule, which is instituted after a team gains an insurmountable lead (10 or more runs) over the other.
Four players for Loyola finished with two hits, while Krause drove in three runs followed by Funston's two RBIs.
"This is a pretty mature team and now were starting to see some of the younger girls swinging the bat with confidence," coach Yvette Healy said.
In game two, it took a little longer for the Ramblers to take control. After three innings of scoreless softball in which Loyola pitcher junior Krista Crosson allowed one base runner, the Ramblers were able to break through and get on the scoreboard first. Loyola played small with freshman Bridget Lally and sophomore Ellen Kresel both reaching base and moving into scoring position. Nora Schober and Funston laid down back-to-back bunts scoring two runs.
Loyola's 2-0 lead was extended in the fifth, scoring runs off a Funston two-run single and Grim RBI double. Funston totaled six RBIs in Saturday's games.
Crosson gave up three hits and one run in pitching the complete game and recorded her third win of the year in the 6-1 victory.
"For cold days like we had, our pitchers showed a lot of toughness," Healy said. "It's tough in this weather for pitchers to keep their hands warm and make the ball go where they want and our pitchers showed a lot of toughness in pitching through it."
In the finale on Sunday, Loyola continued to swing the big bats with Ambrosch leading the way. Ambrosch hit her first two home runs as a Rambler and drove in five runs in Loyola's 10-0 victory.
The theme of the series was the Ramblers jumping out early and putting up seven runs in the first inning. Grim's one-out base hit drove in Kresel and Funston for the first two runs of the game.
After a Youngstown State pitching change, Ambrosch stepped up to the plate with two runners on base and smashed the first pitch she saw over the center field fence for a three-run home run. Loyola tacked on two more runs after Ambrosch's home run to take a 7-0 lead after the first inning.
Solava allowed one hit and one walk in five innings pitched, totaling 10 innings in the series and surrendering just one run.
"I've just been trying to mix my pitches a lot," Solava said. "I've been working on my rise and curve and making my pitches break."
In the bottom of the fourth, Ambrosch hit her second home run over the center field scoreboard, putting the final runs on the board for the three-game sweep.
"We saw the same pitcher yesterday and knew what she liked to do," Ambrosch said. "I just stayed back and waited and made sure I stayed through it."
The Ramblers sweep moved them to 9-12 on the season and 4-1 in Horizon League play. The Ramblers have a tough week of competition ahead of them, traveling to Wisconsin, Valparaiso and Northwestern.
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