March 6, 2011

Box Score

ORLANDO - Freshman lefthander Brittany Gardner tossed a two-hit shutout and Loyola University Chicago (3-3) banged out 11 hits en route to a 6-0 victory over Lehigh this morning at the Rebel Games. The win is the first of Gardner's collegiate career.

After Gardner retired the side in the top of the first, Loyola's bats came to life from the word go. Brooke Andresen led off the bottom of the first with a double that rolled to the fence in right center and scored one batter later on Olivia Bell's chopper up the middle. Following a groundout that moved Bell to third base, Lauren Arceneaux ripped a base hit up the middle to score Bell and give the Ramblers a 2-0 lead.

Gardner retired the first seven Mountain Hawks before Tenley Halaquist singled to left with one out in the third inning. Later in the inning, Lehigh had runners on first and second with two outs, but Gardner escaped potential harm by getting Audra Wood to line out to left.

Loyola added to its lead with a pair of runs in the third, one coming on a RBI single by Lauren Moore, the other coming courtesy of a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Arceneaux.

Jenna Grim gave Loyola an insurance run in the fifth when she tripled to right field to bring home Arceneaux, who had reached on a one-out single up the middle and the Ramblers tacked on another to extend the lead to a comfortable 6-0 margin through five innings of play.

Following Halaquist's single in the third, Gardner set down 13 out of 14 Hawks before Jen Colquhoun doubled to right center with two outs in the seventh. Lehigh loaded the bags in the top of the seventh but was unable to inflict any harm.

Bell, Andresen, Arceneaux and Grim tallied two hits apiece for a Loyola offense that saw seven players register at least one hit. Meanwhile, Gardner yielded only two hits and struck out five.

Loyola faces Eastern Kentucky this morning at the Rebel Games.