Eagles Rally Late to Even Series with Spires

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Chase VanSteenburg and Gaven Mooney were excellent for the second straight Tuesday, and Jack Virden and Paxton Andrade keyed a clutch late-inning offensive surge to kickstart Avila (16-17, 7-9 KCAC) to a 3-2 win over Saint Mary (9-21, 3-12 KCAC) on Tuesday afternoon at The Z.

The two teams combined for 14 hits including four doubles and two home runs, but both starting pitchers were terrific over the first six innings of the game Tuesday, setting up a breezy game that lasted less than two hours on a beautiful afternoon in Kansas City. With the late rally, the Eagles evened the season-long midweek series with the Spires, setting up what could be a critical rubber match later this year in Leavenworth.

Saint Mary got things going early on Tuesday, striking for a run in the opening inning. Caleb McClellan led off with a double and even though Chase VanSteenburg got a double play to nearly get out of the inning, the Spires ultimately cashed in when Noah Parra smoked a liner off the pitcher's glove to score McClellan for the game's first run.

Meanwhile, USM starter Bryce Turner, making just his third appearance of the season, was brilliant for the visitors. Avila got only one hit off him over the first five innings before Bryce Culp cranked a two-out double to left in the sixth, but the Eagles were not able to solve him until later. After the first inning also VanSteenburg entered lockdown mode for the Eagles, scattering a couple of hits until the seventh inning when Jack Knutson mashed a home run to right to put the Spires up 2-0.

The Eagles hadn't had much offense against Turner, but the team never gave up and finally were rewarded for their perseverance late. Jack Virden led off the bottom of the seventh by smacking an opposite-field home run to get the Eagles on the board, canceling out the long ball by Knutson.

Gaven Mooney entered to pitch the eighth and got a double play keyed by Landon Vahle and Austin Reams to coast through his first inning, and when Saint Mary finally went to the bullpen to spell Turner in the bottom half the Eagles were ready to pounce. Vahle drew a walk against reliever Jacob Castaneda and advanced to second on a groundout. Then Paxton Andrade mashed a double to right-center, bringing in Vahle as the tying run, before Virden muscled a hit back up the middle scoring Andrade from second, and putting the Eagles in front for the first time all day.

Mooney returned for the ninth and sent the Spires down in order, wrapping up his second win of the season in clean fashion and preserving an exciting 3-2 victory for the Eagles, which came courtesy of yet another offensive surge in the late innings. Both Andrade and Virden recorded a pair of hits; VanSteenburg threw seven innings for the second straight week, allowing two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

Up next, this week-long homestand continues as Avila welcomes (RV) Tabor to Kansas City for a three-game series this Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon with Sunday's finale to follow at 1 PM; as always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the Avila Sports Network.