Late Slam Lifts Spires to Series Win

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Avila broke a tie and took a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning, but Saint Mary countered with five runs in the home half, highlighted by a grand slam from Brendan Roop, which lifted the Spires (15-27, 8-18 KCAC) to a 7-5 win and a midweek series victory over the Eagles (18-26, 9-18 KCAC) on Tuesday afternoon.

It was yet another installment of what's become an entertaining recent series between these two local rivals, but it was not the result the Eagles, who were looking for a spark to kickstart a strong finish to the regular season, were wanting. Avila out-hit Saint Mary 13 to 8 in the contest and though the Eagles only struck out three times they did leave ten runners on base, which proved costly in a game that finished as close as it did.

After both teams won at home earlier in the year to set up this rubber match, the Eagles got on the board first in the series decider. Bryce Culp walked with one out in the third and Kurt Trotter followed with a double, giving the Eagles second and third with one away. Paxton Andrade and Jack Virden delivered the RBIs, and the Eagles had a 2-0 lead on the road.

Holton Miller pitched well over the first three innings before Saint Mary got to him in the fourth, tying the game at two. Dominic Davies entered and stranded two inherited runners and then tossed a scoreless fifth, allowing the Eagles to take the lead once again: Travis Curry doubled to lead off the seventh and swiftly scored on a base knock by Jacob Nevels.

Avila threatened to score again in that frame but could not, and Saint Mary immediately got to work to eliminate that deficit. An error and an interference call helped extend the inning, and Roop capitalized, launched a grand slam over the center field fence to give the Spires their first lead, 7-3.

The Eagles did not go quietly however. Instead, the visitors went right back to work against starter Noah Parra, who returned to start the eighth and promptly allowed a single to Virden and a double to Ricky Dober, once again giving the Eagles second and third with one gone. Isaiah Alvarez entered off the bench and delivered, chopping a single back up the middle to plate both runners and get the Eagles back within two – but that's as close as they would get. Avila had chances against closer Jacob Castaneda, putting the tying run on base in the ninth, but could not bring them in, and Saint Mary held on to win the game 7-5 and win the season series 2-1. Virden, Dober and Nevels all had two hits in the game for the Eagles.

Up next, Avila baseball returns to Kansas City for its final home series of the 2023 campaign. The Eagles will face a tough foe, with an in-form Kansas Wesleyan squad coming to town for a three-game set which includes a single game on Friday at 2 PM and a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon. Avila will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday as well; as always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the Avila Sports Network with Jacob Kruckenberg on the call.