Game 1: MidAmerica Nazarene 5, Evangel 2 | Box Score
Game 2: Evangel 1, MidAmerica Nazarene 0 | Box Score
Records: Evangel (15-7, 4-6); MidAmerica Nazarene (9-5, 7-1)
Location: Williams Field

OLATHE, Kan. – Abby Jo Emmitt tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout to lift the Evangel softball team to a 1-0 victory over MidAmerica Nazarene, giving EU a doubleheader split with the Pioneers Monday afternoon at Williams Field.

Emmitt (5-3) allowed just two Pioneer singles, while working around six walks to allow EU to bounce back from a 5-2 setback in the opening game.

At the plate, Marissa Lokey went 2-for-3 and drove in the game's lone run with a sixth-inning double.

Game 1 – MidAmerica Nazarene 5, Evangel 2
MNU scored two runs in the first inning and another in the second to build an early lead that Evangel never seriously threatened.

Cordelia Hanger played an integral role in each of the Pioneers' two early scoring rallies, singling and scoring in the first, before sparking MNU's second-inning threat with a leadoff hit en route to a 3-for-4 performance.

Londin Fiorella drove in a pair of runs and recorded a steal to help power MNU's offense, while Alexis Wilds (5-2) worked a complete-game, scattering six EU hits and striking out five for the victory.

Evangel scored single runs in the fourth and sixth frames, using key hits by Ali Raley to spark its offense in each instance. The catcher singled to open the fourth, as EU got on the board via an Abigail Posten infield single.

After MNU scored two runs in the home half of the fourth to extend its lead, Raley struck again to start the sixth, belting her third home run of the season on an 0-1 count to pull her club to within three runs.

But Wilds recovered to retire six of the next seven batters to close out the win and preserve the Pioneers' perfect record in conference play.

Game 2 – Evangel 1, MidAmerica Nazarene 0
Emmitt struck out eight Pioneers, allowing only a second-inning Emma Gordon single and a Hanger base hit in the fifth to hand MNU its first Heart Conference setback in eight league games.

The contest was decided over the span of one inning, as Emmitt wiggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the fifth, before EU rallied for the contest's only run in the top of the sixth.

MNU generated its best scoring opportunity via a leadoff walk to Brianna Carter, followed by a one-out single from Hanger. A walk to Kaleigh Bayless loaded the bases, but Emmitt retired Morgan Fouch on a foul out behind the plate, then squashed the rally by inducing an inning-ending bouncer to third.

In the sixth, Megan Stone coaxed a one-out walk from MNU's Sarah Melodia (3-2), before Lokey lined a double to deep left to chase home the EU baserunner.

Given the one-run lead, Emmitt once again worked her way out of trouble in the sixth, stranding the potential tying run at second on back-to-back ground balls, before setting the Pioneers down in order in the seventh to lock down the win.

Lokey was the lone player for either club to log multiple hits, as the two hurlers combined to permit just six hits, five of which were singles.

Melodia allowed just one run on four hits while fanning five EU hitters in the tough-luck setback.

Up Next
Evangel returns to Springfield Tuesday (March 30) to host Missouri Valley for a 2 p.m. Heart Conference doubleheader.

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—EvangelAthletics.com—