(L-R) Mia Loya, Brian Frangella, and Marisa Loya
When they walked into Oak Lawn Community High School way back in 2012, it was obvious these three girls would make a giant impression on the school and in athletics. And by the time they graduated last May, they had certainly done that by leaving their names in the softball record books, on the walls as Players of the Week, in display cases as Students of the Quarter, as Team Most Valuable Players, as Outstanding Athletes, and on several South Suburban Red All-Conference lists.
For Mia Loya, Marisa Loya and Danielle Allen, this success has continued into college both in the classroom and on the softball field. The Loya twins are playing at an NAIA school Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Allen is playing Division III softball at the University of Chicago.
As of March 20, Aquinas had opened the season with its best start in school history with a record of 19-1. Mia and Marisa are a big part of that historic start to a season as true freshmen, earning 12 of those 19 wins as pitchers.
Marisa has pitched in 11 games and started six of them. Her record on the mound is 7-0 with two saves. She has pitched 50.1 innings with an Earned Run Average of 0.89 and 46 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .178 against her. Last Sunday, Marisa threw a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in Rosemont, Ill., as the Saints beat Roosevelt University, 3-0. Earlier in the year, Marisa was chosen as Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for her performance in Tucson, Ariz., for their spring trip. Marisa followed that up by being named WHAC Pitcher of the Week again the very next week.
Mia is also making a giant impression and continues to grab more and more attention as she has appeared in seven games and started three of them. She has an undefeated record of 5-0 and has pitched 24.1 innings. Her ERA is a miniscule 1.11, and she has 11 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .272 against her. On Sunday, Mia threw four scoreless innings against Judson College in another Aquinas victory.
As of March 20, Allen, a true freshman, had started three of the four games at the University of Chicago. The team was off to a 3-1 season record. In three games, Allen (catcher) went 3-for-9 with an RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base.