Despite the frigid temperatures, I spent a lot of the last few days outdoors enjoying collegiate softball. I saw six games among a softball trifecta of DePaul, Loyola and Northwestern.

DePaul AD Dewayne Peevy. Photo by Kimberly Thompson Meyer.

Although I saw five wins, yesterday’s was the most thrilling. The Loyola Ramblers won on a two-out, two-strike, walk-off home run by Madison Ebeling. After the game, I talked to Loyola coach Alicia Abbott and hitting hero Ebeling. Obviously excited with the win, neither seemed to mind the cold as much.

In addition to the games, I stopped at Aw Yeah Comics, a fun store blocks from my home. Co-owner artist Art Baltazar and Chris Smits were there for the release of The Legend of Abraham Linkage, their newest comic book. Aw Yeah Comics is a throwback to comics stores of yesteryear with a funky, fun modernization.

Photo courtesy of Aw Yeah Comics.

My weekend food highlight came from George’s Deep Dish. The menu features fun names for the food. I chose McFly’s Sci-Fi, with baby spinach, grape tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, roasted garlic and goat cheese.

George’s has a unique take on traditional deep-dish pizza. It has a sourdough focaccia-style crust, caramelized cheese edge and a cornmeal base. The dough cold ferments in its own container for several days to give it an interesting texture and flavor. My first time here will not be my last. I already planned a few more Loyola softball games to be followed by George’s pizza.

All three teams play away games next weekend, but the University of Illinois-Chicago softball team is in town. They play near Chicago’s Little Italy. I’m planning more post-game pizza.

— John Wroblewski, online writer