Aces go for series sweep on Monday
CHICAGO – Trailing 2-1 with two outs in the top of the seventh, the University of Evansville softball team rallied to score three times to take a 4-2 win over Loyola. Riding their momentum, the Purple Aces shut down the Ramblers in game two by a 4-0 final to sweep Sunday’s doubleheader. Monday’s third and final game is slated for a 12 p.m. first pitch.
Â
Game One – UE 4, Loyola 2
Evansville made a furious rally with two outs in the seventh to open the series with a 4-2 victory. UE appeared to have the upper hand early, loading the bases in the first before Rambler pitcher Peyton Pepkowski got out of the inning unscathed. The Rambler offense got it going in the second inning when Abbey Jacobsen hit a 2-run home run to put Loyola up 2-0. Evansville got one of the runs back in the fourth when Alyssa Barela hit a leadoff double before coming home on an error.
Limited to just two hits in the opening six frames, the Purple Aces were down to their final out stilling trailing by one. With Hannah Hood on second and Mackenzie McFeron at the plate, McFeron singled to tie the game. Jessica Fehr followed with a double that proved to be the game-winner before Sydney Weatherford added an RBI single to make it a 4-2 game. Izzy Vetter took care of it from there, clinching her 14th win of the season. In another complete game, Vetter struck out 11 batters and allowed just three hits. Pepkowski also struck out 11 for LUC.
Game Two – UE 4, Loyola 0
Sydney Weatherford had her best start of the season, tossing a complete game shut out to give the Aces a 4-0 win in game two. Haley Woolf put the Aces on the board with a solo home run to open the second inning. It was her first long ball of 2022. Alyssa Barela came up with a clutch hit in the third. With two outs, Jessica Fehr walked and Weatherford reached on a single. That brought Barela to the plate and she came through with a 2-RBI double to make it a 3-0 game.
Barela capped off the scoring in the fifth, hitting a solo home run to extend the lead to 4-0. Weatherford continued her stellar day, completing the contest throwing just 68 pitches. She allowed just two hits and walked one batter.
