Horizon League Softball Championship Game Three: Loyola 5, Detroit 2

May 8, 2008

CHICAGO - Loyola University Chicago got past University of Detroit Mercy 5-2 in game three of the Horizon League Championship at Loyola Softball Park. The Ramblers will advance to the second round and take on Wright State at 8:00 p.m., while the Titans will meet loser of the Cleveland State University-University of Wisconsin-Green Bay matchup at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.

Junior right-hander Krista Crosson earned her sixth victory of the year as she threw a complete game. Detroit senior right-hander Kelli Short suffered the loss after tossing 6.0 innings and striking out six.

Loyola improved to 19-23-1 on the year, while Detroit fell to 11-27. The Ramblers also out-hit Detroit 12-6, but also left 12 runners on the base paths.

The Ramblers victory over the Titans was LU's fourth straight victory against Detroit. Loyola closed out the regular-season versus Detroit.

Loyola limited the Titans to just one run in the first inning after Detroit loaded the bases with no outs. Sophomore catcher Courtney Gill had the Titans' lone RBI on a single to leftfield, which scored junior Jacqueline Nortman from third.

The Ramblers struck back in the bottom half of the opening frame with two runs on two hits. Sophomore Ellen Kresl drew a leadoff walk. Kresl was replaced on the base paths by freshman Bridget Lally. Lally would then move on to second base thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Lindsay O'Gean. Senior Nora Schober followed with a base hit to the shortstop. Schober then stole second to give the Ramblers a pair of runners in scoring position.

Sophomore infielder Angie Funston then picked up her team-best 32 RBI with a single to centerfield.

The Ramblers then loaded the bases with just one out after sophomore Amy Solava walked, however the only run LU could manage came on wild pitch.

Loyola added another run in the second as O'Gean collected her 11th RBI of year with a single to leftfield, driving in Lally, who scored from second. In the third inning, LU loaded the bases once again, but could only manage just one run.

In the fourth inning, Detroit cut the Loyola advantage to two at 4-2. Freshman third-baseman Ellen Sinclair led off the frame with a triple, two batters later she would come around to score thanks to a RBI double by Short.

Loyola responded in the fifth inning with another run to extend its lead back to three. Freshman Haley Ambrosch drove in senior infielder Kat Krause to collect her 11th RBI of the year.

For complete coverage of the 2008 Horizon League Softball Championship check out the tournament homepage at www.horizonleague.org.