Game 1: Evangel 7, Clarke 6 | Box Score
Game 2: Evangel 7, Clarke 6 (8 inn.) | Box Score
Records: Evangel (14-6, 3-5); Clarke (8-15, 2-9)
Location: Crusader Field

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Evangel softball team overcame late deficits to claim both ends of its Heart Conference doubleheader with Clarke by matching 7-6 scores Saturday afternoon.

EU climbed out of a five-run hole in game one, scoring six unanswered runs to pull out the victory. The game two decision included another seventh-inning rally, followed by a walkoff win on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth.

Josie Allcock led Evangel with five hits in the twinbill, as EU touched up Clarke pitching for 26 combined hits on the afternoon.

Game 1 – Evangel 7, Clarke 6
Evangel scored the final six runs to erase a 6-1 deficit, as Hailey Lange's two-out single in the home half of the seventh produced the game-winning run.

After Clarke scored three times in the third to build a five-run cushion, EU received 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief from Ashland Diggs and scored in four of the final five innings to ultimately overtake the Pride with its two-run rally in the seventh.

Megan Stone led Evangel at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with three runs scored, while Lange added two hits and a pair of RBIs. In all, five different EU batters logged two-hit games to power EU's 12-hit attack.

EU began its comeback in the third, using a Kami Holt squeeze to score their first run of the inning, before a wild pitch allowed Abigail Posten to cross the plate with a second tally.

Stone sparked a fifth-inning scoring opportunity with a leadoff double, before moving to third on a ground ball and scoring on a wild pitch to pull EU to within two runs. Lange delivered the first of her two key RBI singles in the sixth, making it a one-run game with a bunt single that scored Allcock.

Marissa Lokey started EU's seventh-inning threat with a one-out single up the middle, before a two-out error kept the rally going. Allcock drew a walk to load the bases, and Ashlie Marshall coaxed a free pass as well to force home the tying run.

Lange then drove a single up the middle to bring in Kristyn Stocks from third with the winning run.

Diggs (2-0) scattered six hits and one walk over her 4.1 innings of shutout relief to earn the victory.

Game 2 – Evangel 7, Clarke 6 (8 inn.)
After its stirring comeback in game one, Evangel followed a familiar pattern in the nightcap, overcoming a five-run, fifth-inning Pride rally for another one-run victory.

Allcock delivered a 4-for-4 effort with a pair of steals and three RBIs for Evangel, while Lange added two more hits and an RBI, as EU pounded out 14 hits in the victory.

Clarke, which erased a 4-0 Evangel lead with its five-run fifth, added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to seize a 6-4 advantage.

But EU answered to level the score in the home half of the seventh, scoring the tying run on a one-out error after Allcock singled home the first run of the inning.

In the eighth, Annslee Leeviraphan bunted for a hit before moving to third on back-to-back sacrifices and scoring on a wild pitch to seal the victory and the sweep.

Evangel took control of the contest early, scoring a second-inning run on Lange's run-scoring hit, before adding three more runs in the third. EU took advantage of a Clarke error to plate an unearned run, then increased its lead to four runs on Allcock's two-run single to left.

Diggs held the Pride scoreless through four innings, but Clarke broke through with five runs in the fifth to turn the tables on EU. Tori Litchkey put the Pride on the board with a run-scoring single down the left-field line, before an Evangel error opened the door to three unearned tallies for the visitors.

In all, Diggs allowed four runs (just one earned) on five hits in her 4 2/3 innings.

Clarke added to its lead in the top of the seventh on a one-out, RBI-triple by Mercy DeRyke, who finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Pride.

Abby Jo Emmitt (5-3) earned the victory for Evangel with 1.2 perfect innings of relief to close out the game.

Up Next
Evangel returns to Heart Conference action Monday (March 29) with a 3 p.m. road doubleheader against MidAmerica Nazarene in Olathe, Kan.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, follow the Crusaders on Facebook at Facebook.com/EUAthletics, Twitter (@EUAthletics), or visit EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the new Evangel Crusaders GamedayApp through Google Play. 

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