The Ramblers defeated the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in their double-header March 28, but lost in their final game against them March 29.
The Ramblers defeated the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in their double-header March 28, but lost in their final game against them March 29.
Loyola Softball won a three-game series against St. Bonaventure University 2-1, March 28-29.
The first game was slow until the bottom of the third inning when the Ramblers’ offense rallied to score four runs. Second-year third baseman Addyson Borg started it off with a hit to left field. First-year designated hitter Mackenzie Patterson completed a sacrifice bunt to advance Borg to second.
Fourth-year outfielder Sierra Sass reached first after an error by the Bonnies, advancing Borg to third. Sass stole second as first-year outfielder Megan Piotrowski was up to bat. Piotrowski reached second on a fielder’s choice, advancing Sass to third, but Borg was tagged out at home.
Third-year first baseman Nat Lesnicki followed with a single that brought Sass and Piotrowski in to score. Second-year second baseman Liz Sedakis hit a double to center field with Lesnicki coming in to score. First-year pitcher Anna Kiel hit a single into left-center field, bringing Sedakis in and putting Loyola up 4-0.
The Ramblers held down defensively until the fifth inning, where St. Bonaventure’s first-year outfielder Annabel Burke and second-year shortstop Abigail Ahern got walked by Kiel. First-year outfielder Ella Amato pinch ran for Burke, advancing to second. Third-year outfielder Sydney DeGram got a single with Amato coming in to score, but Ahern got forced out at second.
Loyola held the 4-1 lead throughout the sixth inning, but St. Bonaventure’s offense ramped up. Third-year pitcher Kendall Stull hit a single, and first-year designated hitter Grace Miller popped the ball to center field, making it to first safely, and advancing Stull to third.
Second-year pitcher Jayden Szkatulski hit the ball to right field, bringing Stull in to score. Beers hit the ball to second, bringing Miller into score and advancing Szkatulski to third. The inning ended with Loyola still leading 4-3.
The seventh inning intensified as the Bonnies scored a run to tie the game after Moyer made it on base after an error. St. Bonaventure’s second-year infielder Lauren Dundon followed with a single that advanced Moyer to third. Miller hit the ball to left field, bringing Moyer into score and tying the game at four.
With one more chance to score, the Ramblers went up to bat. Lesnicki started it off with a single to right field. Sedakis completed a sacrifice bunt that advanced Lesnicki to second. Kiel grounded out to second base, advancing Lesnicki to third. Second-year outfielder Averi Vander Woude finished it off after a single to left-center that brought Lesnicki in to score and win the game for Loyola, 5-4.
Loyola started the second game of the double header off quickly in the bottom of the first inning. Sass singled to third base, and Vander Woude followed with a sacrifice bunt, getting out but advancing Sass to second.
Piotrowski bunted, making it to first and then to second after an error from the Bonnies which allowed Sass to score.
The game slowed down, but the Ramblers picked the pace back up in the bottom of the fourth with Lesnicki hitting a single. Hansen pinch ran for her, advancing to second after another sacrifice bunt from Sedakis.
Patterson hit a double to left field, bringing Hansen in to score, and then Borg hit a double to right field to bring Patterson in to score, making it a 3-0 Ramblers lead.
First-year pitcher Katie Geydoshek only allowed one hit from the Bonnies in the top of the fifth — a double from Dundon. The Ramblers kept the pace going in the bottom of the fifth, with Vander Woude bunting for a single and then stealing second. Piotrowski hit a single to left center to bring Vander Woude in to score, bringing the Ramblers’ lead to 4-0.
The Bonnies tried to come back in the seventh inning with DeGram starting them off with a bunt. Moyer grounded out, but advanced DeGram to second. Dundon hit a single to right center, bringing DeGram home for their first run of the game.
Loyola’s defense held them for the rest of the inning, securing their win 4-1.
Coming off of winning the double header the day before, the Ramblers went into their third game against the Bonnies.
The first four innings were slow, with defense shutting down on both sides. The Bonnies started off the fifth inning with a Ramblers fielding error that allowed for Dundon to get on first. Amato pinch ran for Dundon, and a double from Stull advanced her to third.
Miller followed with another double that brought Stull and Amato in to score, bringing the Bonnies up 2-0.
The Ramblers came right back in the bottom of the inning. Patterson singled to second base with first-year outfielder Alexis Hansen to pinch run for her. Hansen stole second and advanced to third after Steinhorst grounded out to shortstop.
The Bonnies committed a throwing error to third that allowed Hansen to score. The Bonnies’ defense within the next two innings secured the game for them, 2-1, as the Ramblers were unable to score.
After losing their final game against the Bonnies, head coach Alicia Abbott said their hitting game wasn’t what it was in the third game, as it was in the first two.
“We had eight hits in yesterday’s second game, but off of this pitcher in the first game, we only had four or five. We needed to put the ball in the gaps more, and we hit a ton of ground balls today and got pretty easy outs,” Abbott said.
The Ramblers will play next back at Loyola Softball Park April 1 at 4 p.m. to face Red Line rivals, DePaul University. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
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