ST. LOUIS – Putting together one of their strongest offensive showings of the season, the fourth-seeded Fordham Rams upset top-seeded Loyola Chicago, 13-5, in five innings at the Betterment A-10 Softball Championship on Thursday. The Rams advance to the semifinals at 12 p.m. CT on Friday at Billiken Sports Center.

Fordham dominated the matchup from the start, starting with a five-run first inning. After the Rams got their first run on the board, A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Kate McGuire showed off her hitting prowess with a grand-slam. Loyola Chicago answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, but Fordham tacked on three more runs in the third inning on an RBI single from Morgan Volgraf and a two-RBI double from Victoria Klimaszewski.

The Rams expanded their lead with a four-run fourth inning, drawing five walks and a hit by pitch. Loyola Chicago’s Alli Pawlowicz drove in a run with a timely triple in the fifth inning, scoring on a wild pitch moments later. The rally wouldn’t be enough to extend the game, as Fordham pitcher Olivia Simcoe forced a game-sealing popout on the next at-bat.
Simcoe pitched a five-inning complete game to earn the win, allowing five earned runs. Loyola Chicago used four pitchers on Thursday.

The Ramblers will play an elimination game Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT, facing the losing team of Thursday’s afternoon matchup between No. 2 Saint Louis and No. 3 Dayton.