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AUBURN, AL— It was a tough first day to the Tiger Invitational for the Winthrop softball team as it fell 8-0 to Loyola-Chicago in six innings and ended the day with a 9-1 loss to Western Illinois, Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field.

Winthrop falls to 2-5 on the year as it will look to bounce back on Sunday when it faces Marshall at 2 p.m. and Auburn at 4 p.m.

In the second game of the day, Winthrop fell behind 4-0 as the Fighting Leathernecks posted three runs in the first and added another in the second.

The Eagles tried to get back into the game in the top of the third as Zharne Glover led off the inning with a double to right center. The next two batters failed to get Glover home but she did move over to third on a ground out by McKenzi Corn. But Lindsay Davis came through with an RBI single to left as Glover scored the only run of the game for the Eagles.

Over the first two innings the Eagles left three runners stranded before finally breaking through in the third. Glover led off the game with a walk and stole second with one out, but Corn and Sarah Allen were unable to plate Glover. In the second inning Mel Andrea led off with a single to short and but was thrown out the next play as Alex White reached on a fielder's choice. Maddie Antone hit into a fielder's choice that led White to being thrown out at second before Paige Haley reached after being plunked. That brought up Kim Ryder, but she struck out swinging to end the inning.

Western Illinois added three more runs in the fourth highlighted by a two-run home run by Lia Romeo and then ended the game in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs.

Sarah Allen took the loss in the second game as she allowed three runs on three hits in 0.1 innings. She was relieved by Dallas King, who threw three innings allowing four runs on eight hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Western Illinois got a solid pitching performance from Kayla Kilpatrick as she allowed one run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts and is now 3-0.   

In the first game of the day, it came down to basically two pitches in which Loyola-Chicago made the Eagles pay. Winthrop's Sutton Watson started the game in the circle as she allowed four runs in the top of the first. After a leadoff double by Erica Nagel, she moved over to third on a ground out. Then Watson walked Katy LaCivita but got the grounder she needed with the next batter but Lauren Zaworski reached on an error to load the bases. Lauren Moore grounded to short as Nagel scored and LaCivita was out at third on the force. This brought up Brie Pasquale, who hit a 2-2 pitch over the fence down the left field line for a 4-0 lead.

The Ramblers hit another three-run home run in the top of the third inning, this time with no outs. Watson hit the first batter on a 1-1 pitch and then LaCivita walked for a second time. Zaworski stepped up and hit the first pitch over the center field fence for a 7-0 lead.

Winthrop gave up eight runs on just four hits while recording three itself and leaving six total runners stranded.

Watson finished the game allowing seven runs (four earned) on three hits with two walks and a strikeout to fall to 2-1. Allen tossed four innings of relief allowing one run on one hit with two walks and five strikeouts. Allen didn't allow a hit or run with no walks and five strikeouts over her first three innings of relief before yielding a run in the top of the sixth, a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Tarran Shaffer.

Corn extended her streak of reaching base to six games as she was 1-for-2 with a walk against Loyola-Chicago but the streak ended against Western Illinois. Glover finished the day with two hits. Andrea finished with two hits against Western Illinois.

The Ramblers Brittany Gardner held the Eagles in check allowing no runs on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts to improve to 1-3. It was the third time this season the Eagles have been shutout.