May 3, 2008

Box Score

CHICAGO - Loyola University Chicago (17-23-1, 11-7 Horizon) braved the elements and halted a seven-game winless streak by sweeping a doubleheader from Horizon League foe Detroit (11-25, 4-12 Horizon) this afternoon at a damp and cold Loyola Softball Park. The Ramblers held on for a 4-3 victory in game one before capturing a 6-1 decision in the nightcap. With the wins, Loyola has topped the 10-win plateau in League play for the third straight season.

In the opener, Loyola scored all of its runs in the first three innings and held on for a 4-3 victory. The Ramblers struck first in the bottom of the first inning, doing their damage with two outs. Nora Schober drew a walk, then after Kat Krause was hit by a Kelli Short pitch, Angie Funston stroked a single to right field, scoring Schober, and giving Loyola a 1-0 lead. After adding another run in the second inning, Loyola built its lead to 4-0 thanks to a mammoth two-run home run to center field off the bat of catcher Jenna Grim in the bottom of the third.

Detroit slowly chipped away at the deficit, scoring a run courtesy of a Jacqueline Nortman RBI single in the top of the fifth, to bring the Titans within three runs (4-1). In the sixth, the Titans made things interesting as Breana Sesoko led off with a double and Courtney Gill crushed an Amy Solava offering over the fence in center to cut the Loyola lead to 4-3. Before the inning was over, the Titans had runners at first and second, but Solava struck out Chelsea Lathrop to end the threat as Loyola would hold on for the win.

Solava scattered six hits and struck out four to earn the win for Loyola while Funston and Ellen Kresl tallied a pair of hits apiece.

Loyola seized command of game two from the get-go, scoring three runs in the first inning and never looking back en route to a 6-1 win. Funston singled home Stephanie Cihlar andSchober for the first two runs of the game and later in the frame, Lindsay O'Gean delivered a run-scoring single to left field to score Krause and give the home team all the offense it would need.

The Titans closed to within 3-1 in the sixth inning on Sesoko's RBI groundout, but Loyola put the game away with three more runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning. The Ramblers scored two of those three runs on an error by shortstop Kristen Sclater and pinch hitter Kristin Guska would draw a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to force in another as the Ramblers cruised to the doubleheader sweep.

Right-hander Krista Crosson scattered four hits, did not allow an earned run and struck out seven while issuing only one walk, for her first win since April 19. Funston and O'Gean led the Rambler offense with two hits each, while Krause scored a pair of runs.

Loyola and Detroit wrap up their three-game weekend series with a single game tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m.