Aces head to Loyola for final three games
Hoping to clinch a spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament this weekend, the University of Evansville softball team heads to Loyola for its final three games of the regular season.
Entering the weekend, the Purple Aces are 22-24 overall and 10-13 in conference play. They stand sixth in the MVC and hold a cushion of two games over Missouri State and Indiana State, who are tied for 8th place in the league. The Bears and Sycamores square off this weekend in Springfield.
Saturday’s action begins with a noon doubleheader with Sunday’s regular-season finale also set for a noon first pitch.
UE is coming off of a tough 3-2 loss on Wednesday against Southern Illinois. With the score tied up at 2-2 following the first seven innings, the game went nine frames before the Salukis scored the deciding run. Morgan Florey pitched the entire game, striking out eight SIU batters. The freshman now has 200 strikeouts on the season and is just the second in program history to reach that mark in a single season.
Chandra Parr and Michal Luckett each had 2-hit days for the Aces. Parr, along with Florey, knocked in the Aces’ runs, both of which crossed the plate in the third inning.
Parr bumped her team-leading batting average to .328 on the season and is tied with Florey for the team high in home runs (6) and RBIs (23). Luckett boosted her batting average to .308 with her 2/3 performance against SIU, ranking second on the squad. She is tied with Parr for the team lead with 45 hits and has logged in 146 at-bats, the most for an Evansville player this season.
Loyola begins the weekend with a 20-26 record and 4-17 in the MVC. The Ramblers have dropped their last four games, each of which were on the road, but took wins in their last two home games. They defeated Illinois State by a 5-4 final on April 24 before taking a 1-0 decision over Indiana State two days later.
Erica Nagel is the top hitter in the Valley as she starts the weekend hitting .447. She has recorded 67 hits in 150 plate appearances. Brooke Wyderski has also been strong, hitting .433. Wyderski leads Loyola in home runs (9), RBI (33) and doubles (10).
