PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull even with Loyola at 3-3 and had the potential game-winning run on second with one out in seventh, but the Ramblers got out of the jam and pushed a run across in the top of the eighth to edge the Braves 4-3 Sunday at Laura Bradley Park.

Loyola (13-18 overall, 4-5 MVC) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, plating a run in the first on a double to right field by Tarran Shaffer in the first and a two-out solo homer off the bat of Lauren Moore in the third.

Bradley (17-20 overall, 8-4 MVC) left the bases loaded in the bottom of the second and finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Rambler lead in half at 2-1.  Sophomore Shannon King (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) had a one-out double in the fourth and moved to third on a fly ball to the outfield.  King later scored from third on an infield single by senior Alex Chandler (Needles, Calif./Needles) to trim the Loyola advantage to 2-1.

Moore had a one-out double in the Loyola half of the sixth and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Alyssa Mannucci to push the Rambler lead back to two runs at 3-1, before Bradley would rally late.

Junior Alyson Clemente (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) opened the sixth with a single and King followed with one of her own to put runners at first and second.  Senior Marina Groenewegen (Surrey, British Columbia/Elgin Park Secondary/Southern Idaho) belted a high-towering shot to the warning track in left field, but Loyola's Annie Korth was able to track it down and record the first out of the inning.  King and Clemente moved to second and third on the fly ball before Chandler ripped a double down the left field line to drive both base runners in and pull the Braves even at 3-3.

Senior Madeline Lynch-Crumrine (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Sedro-Woolley) pitched around a single in the top of the seventh and Bradley had a chance to close out the game in the bottom half of the inning after senior Mariah Cole (Springfield, Ill./Chatham Glenwood) led off the frame with a single up the middle.

Cole moved to second on a sacrifice bunt to put the potential game-winning run on second with only one out, but Loyola's Brittany Gardner struck out the next batter she faced and got a ground out to end the threat as Bradley went to extra innings for the first time since the season opener.

Loyola had a runner at first with two outs after Moore was hit by a pitch and the Ramblers had runners at first and second after a Mannucci single in the top of the eighth.  Olivia Bell followed Mannucci's single with one of her own to plate Moore from second with the go-ahead run and give Loyola a 4-3 lead.

In the bottom half of the eighth, Groenewegen had a one-out single, but Gardner struck out the next two batters to close out the victory as she improved to 9-8 with the win.  Gardner struck out six and walked just one in eight innings of work.

Bradley outhit Loyola 10-8 with four Braves enjoying 2-for-4 days at the plate, including Chandler who drove in all three BU runs.  Lynch-Crumrine struck out seven and walked one in the complete game, eight-inning effort as she fell to 11-10 on the year.  Senior Brianne Joseph (Post Falls, Idaho/Post Falls) was 1-for-3 as she recorded her 150th career hit to move into a tie for 10th in school history.

The Braves return to action Thursday, playing a 4 p.m. game at SIU Edwardsville.