CHICAGO, Ill. – Camryn Monteer reached base in seven of her eight plate appearances and Avry Blume went 3-for-6 with a pair of home runs as the pair helped Bradley split a Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader at Loyola Sunday.
After dropping Sunday's series opener 5-3, Bradley (13-11 overall, 6-5 MVC) regrouped for a 4-3 victory over Loyola (6-20 overall, 2-8 MVC) in the nightcap.
Monteer was a combined 4-for-5 with three walks, two runs and one RBI in the twinbill, going 3-for-4 with a run and RBI in the second-game victory.
Freshman Camryn Schaller picked up the victory in the day's second game, dominating early as she improved to 3-0 on the season. Schaller didn't allow a hit through the first three innings and held Loyola to just two hits through the first five frames. In fact, she pushed her streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 12, before the Ramblers broke up her shutout bid in the sixth.
Loyola's Madison Veres was able to keep Bradley off the scoreboard until the sixth as well, working out of several jams along the way. The Braves finally got to Veres in the top of the sixth after three straight infield singles by Monteer, Lucy Mead and Blume to open the inning loaded the bases. Vicki Zaluske highlighted what turned out to be a three-run Bradley sixth with a two-run single through the right side to put BU in front 2-0. Blume later scored on a squeeze play as the Braves built a 3-0 lead.
With two on and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Loyola's Allyson Ivey ripped a single off the wall in left center to plate the first Rambler run of the contest and trimmed the Bradley lead to 3-1.
The Braves got the run back in the top of the seventh. Jillian Navarro drew a one-out walk and Monteer drove her home with an important insurance run with a triple to left as Bradley led 4-1 heading to the bottom of the seventh.
A Bradley error to start the seventh helped spark a Loyola rally attempt. The Ramblers had runners at second and third with no outs after an error, single and passed ball. Taise Thompson, who came on in relief of Schaller in the sixth, got a pop out for the first out of the inning and the Braves threw out a runner at the plate on a fielder's choice for the second out of the frame. Amelia Thomas kept the Loyola hopes alive with a two-out, two-run double to center that cut the Bradley advantage to 4-3. Thompson got a fly out to close out the game, however, as she picked up her second save of the year.
In the opener, Blume homered in each of her first two at bats and Monteer reached base each of her four plate appearances. Loyola was able to take advantage of three Bradley errors, however, and topped the Braves 5-3.
Blume got Bradley on the scoreboard first with a two-out solo homer in the top of the first to give BU a 1-0 advantage.
Grace French had three strikeouts in the first inning, working around a pair of singles for a scoreless frame. The Ramblers got out a jam in the second and knotted it up at 1-1 with a run in bottom half of the inning. A Jocelyn Currie single to leadoff the inning and two Bradley errors led to a Loyola run.
Monteer led off the Bradley half of the third with a single and scored on a two-run homer off the bat of Blume as the Braves went back in front 3-1. Blume had just one career homer entering the contest, before collecting the 16th multi-homer game on record in program history.
The lead was short lived, unfortunately, with Loyola answering with three runs in the bottom of the third. Madison Ebeling had a leadoff single and stole second, before eventually moving to third on a fielder's choice. Nova Sinskul drove home Ebeling with a one-out single to right and would later score on a Sydney Barnett double to tie it up at 3-3. Barnett later scored the go-ahead run on a two-out RBI single by Teagan Sopczak as the Ramblers grabbed a 4-3 lead.
Loyola added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth. Pinch hitter Tori Boysen drew a leadoff walk that would prove costly. The Ramblers had a runner at third with one out after a stolen base and Bradley error for Ebeling, who drove in another run with an infield single to push the Rambler lead 5-3.
Bradley threatened in the top of the fifth with three straight walks on just 14 pitches to open the frame. Loyola pitcher Sydney Ruggles got out of the jam, getting a strikeout, pop out and fly out to end the threat.
Ruggles sat Bradley down in order in the sixth and worked around a leadoff walk from Monteer in the seventh to close out the complete game victory for the Ramblers.
Bradley and Loyola wrap up the three-game series Monday with a single game at 11 a.m. in Chicago.
