 "Photo: Loyola Athletic Department/Steve Woltmann")
 "Photo: Loyola Athletic Department/Steve Woltmann")
While snow and cold temperatures swept LU and the rest of Chicago this weekend, the women’s softball team was hard at work catching some rays and fly balls at the Florida Atlantic University Milken Tournament.
Loyola finished the tournament 1-4 falling to the University of South Carolina, Providence College and twice to Florida Atlantic University.
Last season the Ramblers finished with a 28-24 record. In a preseason poll, head coaches picked Loyola to finish fourth in the league.
“Every cold weather school has to bite the bullet sometimes at the beginning of the season and play outdoors against warm weather schools who have spent the entire winter on the dirt,” said Head Coach Yvette Healy. “Even the best Midwest softball teams like DePaul, Northwestern and NIU lose lots of games early and struggle at the beginning of the season making the outdoor transition.”
The Ramblers opened up the tournament with their only win, an 8-0 rout of the Providence Friars that was due in large part to junior catcher Jenna Grim’s bat. She went 3-3 on the day including a grand slam in a seven-run fourth inning for Loyola. Starting pitcher senior Amy Solava threw a complete game, only allowing two hits and two walks over the course of the five inning shutout victory over Big East rival Providence. Solava’s 43rd victory as a Rambler advances her to within eight of Karie Klier’s school record of 51. She also had a no-hitter through the fifth inning against FAU before the game was postponed due to rain.
Some players faced a harder transition to dirt than others. Sophomore Lauren Arceneaux needed to visit the local ER for five stitches after having her mouth opened up by a ground ball that took a bad hop. Despite the blood on her face and a few loose teeth, Arceneaux played through her pain. Arceneaux, who has transitioned from third base last season to shortstop, sacrificed a bunt against the South Carolina Gamecocks that led to the team’s only point in the 15-1 defeat.
Arceneaux finished the game 2-3 with an RBI and stolen base and led the team in hitting. Last season, Arceneaux led the Ramblers with 43 hits and tallied 19 stolen bases.
The Rambler women travel to the other coast of Florida to Clearwater on March 5 to take part in the Under Armour Invitational, hosted by the University of South Florida, where they will take on Massachusetts, Wagner, Memphis, Temple and Jacksonville.
The team will remain in Florida, traveling to Orlando to play in the Rebel Games Tournament where they will play Wagner, Indiana State, Fairfield and Sacred Heart before finally playing their first home game of the season on March 24 in a double header versus the University of Illinois.
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