Game 1: Evangel 16, Grand View 6 | Box Score
Game 2: Grand View 11, Evangel 8 | Box Score
Records: Evangel (17-25, 10-20); Grand View (13-27, 9-22)
Location: University Field

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel relied on a pair of big innings to pull away for a series-clinching, 16-6 victory over Grand View in game one of the two clubs' Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday at University Field.

The Vikings returned the favor in the nightcap, scoring in each of the first three innings before putting the game away with a three-run seventh to grab an 11-8 win over EU.

Jordan Yates led the Evangel offense with a pair of home runs and seven runs batted-in on the day, while Dalton Cook added four hits and two RBIs for EU.

Game 1 – Evangel 16, Grand View 6
Evangel overcame an early 1-0 deficit thanks to a six-run outburst in the third inning, using two-run homers by Yates and Mason Hansen to turn the tide for good. Noah Suiter delivered the first of his two run-scoring hits, before Nathan Lamb capped the rally with an RBI double.

Yates finished 2-for-4 with five RBIs, adding a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a two-run double as part of EU's seven-run rally in the sixth that put the victory on ice. Suiter also turned in a big performance, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

Austin Dill (6-4) locked up the mound victory with 5 2/3 innings of work, scattering 12 hits and striking out five Vikings.

EU's key rally in the third started with a leadoff walk to Patrick Gaul, who then swiped second to set up Suiter's run-scoring single. Yates followed with a towering drive that cleared the wall in center to stake EU to a 3-0 lead.

After a Jason Jarrell single, Hansen followed Yates' lead, blasting a two-run shot of his own over the fence in right. Grant Kosanke drew a walk, and Lamb chased him home with a two-bagger to right-center.

Evangel sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning again in the sixth, touching up Grand View pitching for six consecutive hits to start the rally. Bret Hoffman and Grant Miller came off the bench to spark the scoring opportunity with back-to-back pinch-singles, followed by a Shiloh Thompson double and an RBI single by Gaul.

Suiter smashed a double down the left-field line, and Yates plated two more with a two-base hit to left-center. Hansen drove in a sixth run with a triple, before Cook made it a 16-4 game with his sac fly to right.

Grand View scored a pair of runs in the ninth on back-to-back sac flies, but Levi Loughridge closed out the victory to secure the series win.

Game 2 – Grand View 11, Evangel 8
Grand View overcame four errors and another strong offensive effort by Evangel to salvage the final game of the series. The Vikings scored in all but two innings, including three-run rallies in the second and seventh innings.

Colten Parkins led the way with a 3-for-4 effort, as the sophomore outfielder delivered a pair of two-run, extra-base hits in the first three innings to help GVU establish a six-run lead.

Caleb McDowell and Dan Petersen each recorded a pair of hits and drove in two runs apiece, while Joe Bagley (2-4) gave the Vikings 5.0 solid innings to hold EU's offense at bay.

Petersen helped GVU take a 1-0 lead in the first by doubling with one out, then scoring from third on a wild pitch. The senior came through in the second as well, lacing a two-run single to left after Parkins had tripled home two baserunners to open the rally.

Parkins added an RBI double in the third after EU had scored on a Gaul double and an error in the bottom of the second.

Evangel added single runs in the third and fourth innings, including another home run by Hansen. Two more GVU errors and Cook's two-run double highlighted a three-run fifth that sliced the Vikings' lead to 7-6.

But the visitors added an insurance run in the sixth when McDowell single and stole second ahead of Erik Swenson's RBI single. They broke the game open in the seventh on homers by Carter Eldridge and McDowell to offset Yate's two-run homer in the home half of the inning.

Brandon Smith pitched the final two innings to earn his first save of the season.

Evangel concludes its regular season with an overall mark of 17-25, as well as a 10-20 Heart Conference record.

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–