BASEBALL SHOWS FIGHT BUT ENDS SEASON WITH SECOND-ROUND LOSS TO YORK

JOPLIN, Mo. – Trailing for the entirety of the game, Avila baseball made a valiant comeback attempt in the later innings before ultimately falling to York in the 2025 KCAC Tournament, 10-6 on Friday night.

York scored eight runs in the first three innings to put Avila in a deep hole in the elimination game.

Thanks to strong starting pitching from York, Avila could only manage one run in the first six innings. With their season on the line, the Eagles entered the seventh inning trailing 8-1.

After a two-run home run in the first round on Thursday, JJ Stubblefield cut into the York lead with an RBI single in the seventh inning to cut the lead to six.

A two-run home run by the Panthers in the eighth seemed to put the game out of reach, but the Eagles showed plenty of fight in the final inning with the hopes of keeping their season alive.

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Tyler King scored Robby Cable and Will Clark on a two-RBI double to right center. The next batter – senior Zach Dillman – would plate another pair of Eagles with a two-run single of his own.

What was once a seven-run deficit was cut to four, but that was all the offense Avila could manage in the team's 47^th and final game of the season as Avila fell, 10-6.

Matt Carpenter's team finished the regular season 20-27 and 17-19 in the KCAC. The 17 wins in the conference matched last season's total for the most wins in a conference season since the 2016-17 season.