Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Game 1: Culver-Stockton 2, Evangel 1 | Box Score
Game 2: Evangel 4, Culver-Stockton 1 | Box Score
Records: Evangel (25-10, 14-9); Culver-Stockton (12-24, 9-15)
Location: Himsl Field
CANTON, Mo. – Evangel bounced back from a one-run setback in the opening game of its doubleheader with Culver-Stockton with a 4-1 victory over the Wildcats in the nightcap to salvage a split Saturday afternoon at Himsl Field.
Bridget Rippe allowed just one run on five hits over 8.1 combined innings, including a complete-game, one-hit effort in a 2-1 game-one setback.
Kristyn Stocks went 2-for-3 with a key two-run single in Evangel's 4-1 game-two win, and Ali Raley totaled three hits on the day to lead the EU offense.
Game 1 – Culver-Stockton 2, Evangel 1
Rippe allowed a leadoff single and a pair of Culver-Stockton first-inning runs and little else in a six-inning, complete-game performance.
The Wildcats used Hailey Akers' leadoff hit as a springboard to their lone scoring rally of the game. Rippe issued a walk to Aubrey Feiden, and Taryn Brown moved both baserunners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Akers came home on Alle Thompson's fielder's choice grounder, and Sydney Williams made it a 2-0 game with her RBI bouncer to third.
Evangel mounted a threat in the fourth, as Mariah Hanner sparked a two-out rally with her double to left field. Annslee Leeviraphan walked and Megan Stone was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch on a strikeout of Ashlie Marshall allowed Hanner to score, but Raley flew out to end the inning.
Culver's Emma Roseberry (5-9) kept EU in check the rest of the way, working around a Marissa Lokey leadoff single in the fifth and a Raley base hit with one out in the seventh. In all, Roseberry struck out 10 EU batters and scattered five hits in a complete-game effort.
Rippe permitted just the one Wildcat hit to go along with three walks in her 6.0 innings, and Raley went 2-for-4 at the plate to pace the EU offense.
Game 2 – Evangel 4, Culver-Stockton 1
Evangel overcame a 1-0 deficit thanks to another strong performance in the circle and four unanswered runs to earn the doubleheader split. Rippe tossed 2 1/3 scoreless frames to start the contest, before Abby Jo Emmit finished it with nine strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings of one-hit relief.
After C-SC scored the game's first run in the bottom of the fourth on an Emmit throwing error, Evangel returned the favor in the fifth, plating the equalizing run on a two-out Wildcat miscue.
Evangel seized control of the game in the sixth with another two-out rally. Raley's single through the right side sparked the threat, before Josie Allcock and Kami Holt added back-to-back hits to bring in the go-ahead run. Stocks followed with a back-breaking, two-run single up the middle to extend EU's lead to three runs.
Emmit (12-3) wouldn't need the extra support, however. The right-hander retired six of seven batters over the final two innings, allowing just a one-out walk in the seventh in locking up her 12th victory of the season. She also topped the 100-strikeout plateau for the season with her nine punchouts.
Stocks logged a pair of hits to lead Evangel's six-hit attack, while Akers went 2-for-3 to pace the Wildcats.
Grace Preston (0-2) worked a complete game in circle for Culver, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits, while fanning six batters.
Up Next
Evangel returns to Springfield to MidAmerica Nazarene Tuesday (April 20) in a 2 p.m. doubleheader at University Field.
For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EUAthletics, Twitter (@EUAthletics), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the new Evangel Athletics Gameday App through Google Play.
–EvangelAthletics.com–
