The Basics
Score: Evangel 9, William Penn 2
Records: Evangel (24-9, 13-8); William Penn (13-16, 7-10)
Location: Crusader Field 
Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel scored in each of the first six innings and rode a complete-game pitching gem from Bridget Rippe to a 9-2 victory over William Penn in Heart of America Athletic Conference softball action Friday afternoon at Crusader Field.

Ali Raley continue to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Marissa Lokey drove in a pair of runs to lead Evangel at the plate. 

Rippe struck out eight William Penn batters and scattered four hits over her 7.0 innings. The visitors' only offense came via two unearned runs in the fifth, after a pair of EU defensive miscues extended the inning.

Evangel mounted a two-out rally in the first against William Penn starting pitcher Peyton Parker (0-7), beginning with Raley's base hit back through the box. The EU catcher legged out the first run of the day on Lokey's double to left-center, before Kristyn Stocks and Abigail Posten added back-to-back singles to bring in another baserunner for a 2-0 EU advantage.

The home club struck again in the second, taking advantage of a Penn error to score three more runs. Megan Stone delivered an RBI-single to left, before Raley's single down the left-field line brought in two more runs.

Mariah Hanner's third-inning single drove home Stocks, who had singled for the second time in the game to open the rally. Annslee Leeviraphan doubled to spark a fourth-inning threat, and Raley cashed in with a sacrifice fly to stretch the EU lead to seven runs.

After William Penn plated its only two runs via a pair of two-out miscues in the top of the fifth, Leeviraphan made sure EU got one of those runs back in the home half, placing a two-out, infield hit to score Stocks once again.

Lokey's sacrifice pop-foul in the sixth produced the ninth EU run, following an Ashlie Marshall single and two more Penn errors, to account for the final margin.

Rippe (6-2) was in control throughout the contest, retiring the first nine Penn hitters of the game, allowing her offense time to build a six-run cushion. EU would record nine hits in the game before the visitors put their first batter on base.

In addition to Raley's big day, Stocks also logged two hits and three stolen bases to spark the EU offense. Leeviraphan and Stone also registered two-hit games for the home club.

Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was suspended in the top of the third inning and subsequently canceled due to thunderstorms in the Springfield area. The contest will not be resumed.

Up Next
Evangel returns to action next Saturday (April 17), when it travels to Canton, Mo., for a Heart Conference twin bill against Culver-Stockton at 2 p.m.

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–