Ramblers’ season turnaround taking them to the state’s elite eight

How dramatically things change in the spring.

All of a sudden, new life emerges — a truth Loyola Academy softball opponents found out for the 12th straight time on Saturday.

The Ramblers’ revived season became a historic one on June 7, when their 2-0 win against Mundelein gave them a sectional championship for just the third time in program history (2009, 1997).

The postgame moment was a powerful one for Loyola players, fans and coaches. Head coach Leah Herlocker said it was the season’s challenges — including an eight-game losing streak in which Loyola was outscored 96-16 — that prepared them for Saturday’s heroics.

“I just love this group of kids so much,” Herlocker said. “We love spending time with them; they love spending time with each other. That’s the best part of it.

“But beyond that, their hard work is paying off. Low moments are paying off — early mornings in the gym, late nights at the field, sleepless nights when things didn’t go our way, when we’re getting (mercy-ruled). This is the moment keeping us motivated. To see it come to fruition is really special.”

The Ramblers once sported a 4-13 record this season and wound up with the No. 11 seed in the IHSA Class 4A Stevenson Sectional.

On their way to the title, Loyola topped No. 7 New Trier, No. 2 Warren and No. 6 Hersey before meeting No. 5 Mundelein in the sectional finale. The Ramblers star junior Hunter Lewis smacked a solo home run in the sixth and pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out 11, in the circle to spearhead the victory.

Lewis struck out in the third inning, with a teammate in scoring position, a rare occurrence that motivated the Northwestern commit going into her next at-bat.

“I was a little bit frustrated,” Lewis said of her strikeout. “… So I went up to the plate (in the sixth) and was like, ‘She’s not beating me.’ I wasn’t trying to hit a home run. I was just trying to make solid contact and it went.”

The Ramblers added an insurance run in their half of the seventh when senior Gwen Coleman doubled to the right-center field gap to drive home Maggie Herbert.

Coleman, along with fellow senior Emilia Bartholomew, was part of the Ramblers 2022 squad that lost a heartbreaker in the sectional finale. While enjoying the full-circle moment, Coleman said her team’s turnaround was about trust.

“Just keeping our heads down,” she said. “We bond through our ebbs and flows. We’ve had some losing streaks but just keeping steady and true to our game and trusting each other.”

From the circle, Lewis has posted some prolific strikeout numbers (16 in both regional wins). Mustangs hitter put the bat on the ball more often, putting more pressure on Loyola’s defense. And the Ramblers stepped up.

Loyola played an errorless game with shortstop Juju Miller and left fielder Herbert making multiple strong plays each behind their hurler.

Herlocker said the team’s defensive success is also a product of the early-season struggles.

“The days things weren’t going so well we were getting lots of balls on defense,” she said. “They want to win so bad and their focus on defense is high. They are ready for the ball. That is something we’ve really grown into; we don’t fall asleep on defense.”

Lewis was matched for much of the day by Mustangs ace Sophia Zepeda, who also struck out 11 and allowed just five hits.

Loyola threatened in the second, loading the bases with a Bartholomew single and two walks (Abby Murphy, Miller). Moira Divane also advanced to scoring position in the third inning following her single, and Murphy singled in the fourth.

But nothing came across the plate until Lewis’ sixth-inning homer.

Loyola advances to the IHSA 4A final eight and has a supersectional date with Oak Park-River Forest (28-8) — No. 1 seed and winners in their own sectional — at 4:30 p.m. Monday, June 9, at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

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