Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Game 1: Evangel 5, Park 4 | Box Score
Game 2: Evangel 6, Park 4 | Box Score
Records: Evangel (22-8, 11-7); Park (4-14, 4-10)
Location: Crusader Field
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Led by big afternoons from Ali Raley and Abby Jo Emmitt, the Evangel softball team recorded a pair of comeback victories over Park Monday (April 5) afternoon in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep at Crusader Field.
Raley reached base safely in all four of her trips to the plate and drove in the game-winning run in a 5-4 EU victory in the opener, then logged two more hits—a two-run homer and the go-ahead double in the sixth inning of a 6-4 win in the nightcap.
Emmitt recorded the game-one save with a perfect inning of relief, before tossing a complete-game for her 10th victory of the season in the second contest.
Game 1 – Evangel 5, Park 4
Evangel rallied late to pull out the one-run decision in the opening game of the afternoon. Abigail Posten logged three hits, including a key fifth-inning RBI-double that started EU's comeback, while the pitching duo of Ashland Diggs and Emmitt combined for three scoreless innings of relief to close out the game.
Trailing 4-1 entering the fifth, Evangel rallied to close the gap to two runs on Posten's two-out double that scored Raley, then plated three more in the sixth to seize command for good.
Diggs (3-0) worked 2.0 frames of one-hit relief to earn the victory, before Emmitt closed out the contest with a perfect seventh inning.
After trading second-inning runs with Evangel, Park established a 3-1 advantage with a third-inning rally that featured back-to-back RBI singles by Meggen Keller and Shay Tolbert. The Pirates added another tally in the fourth on Lexie Duncan's two-out home run.
EU's decisive rally in the sixth started with three consecutive singles from Hailey Lange, Mariah Hanner and Annslee Leeviraphan. Megan Stone plated the first run with a sacrifice fly to left, before Ashlie Marshall squeezed home Hanner with the tying run.
Next, Raley delivered the go-ahead blow when her two-out, pop fly to shallow left fell in front of a pair of Park defenders to allow Leeviraphan time to trot home from third.
Emmitt then promptly dispatched the first two Park hitters of the seventh via strikeouts, before retiring Keller on an infield pop-up to end the contest.
Raley reached base safely in all four of her trips to the plate, finishing 2-for-2 with an RBI and a pair of walks, while Hanner also went 2-for-2 with a run scored.
Game 2 – Evangel 6, Park 4
Following a familiar pattern from the first game of the day, Evangel once again overcame a late deficit by scoring four times in the home half of the sixth inning. Raley led the charge again, lining a one-out, two-run double off the wall in left to chase home the tying and go-ahead runs.
In all, Raley drove in four runs, including two on a first-inning home run that staked EU to a 2-0 lead. She finished the game 2-for-3 with four RBIs.
Park rebounded from Raley's early shot to even things up in the second inning, thanks to three walks, a Lexie Schroeder's RBI-single and a bases-loaded walk to Macee Austin.
The Pirates surged to a 4-2 lead with a two-run third, taking advantage of a pair of costly EU errors and a run-scoring double by Tolbert.
Evangel appeared poised for a big inning in the fifth after drawing three consecutive walks to open the inning. But Duncan (2-6) worked her way out of the jam by inducing three straight pop-ups to keep EU off the scoreboard.
But EU would not be denied in the sixth, as Sydney Hill's leadoff single opened the floodgate once again. Stone doubled to put a pair of runners in scoring position, and Marshall's single brought in the first run of the rally.
Raley's liner down the left-field line caromed off the wall, allowing both Stone and Marshall ample time to come home with the tying and go-ahead runs. A two-out error on Anah Noble's ground ball brought in the fourth EU run of the inning.
Emmitt (10-3) scattered six hits and three earned runs while fanning eight over her 7.0 innings, allowing single Park baserunners in each of the last four frames, but no more.
Up Next
Evangel travels to Baldwin City, Kan., Tuesday (April 6) for a 4 p.m. Heart Conference doubleheader with Baker.
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.
—EvangelAthletics.com—
