Eagles Strike Late Twice to Sweep Threshers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – All tied up in the late stages twice, Avila (19-12, 6-2 KCAC) struck for the winning run in the sixth inning in game one and in the seventh inning of game two, with Maya Richards at the center of the action both times, lifting the Eagles to a doubleheader sweep of Bethel (11-17, 2-8 KCAC) on Tuesday afternoon at The Z.

There was no shortage of action in a pair of games that took nearly five hours to complete. Avila jumped out to a large early lead in game one and had to hang on tight for one one-run win before the Eagles rallied to score one in the sixth and one more in the seventh to earn their second one-run win of the day and stay in the top half of the KCAC standings with a third of the season already gone.

Bethel pushed across the first run of the day in the first inning but then the Eagle offense erupted, scoring three runs in each of the first two innings to build a big early lead. Chelsea Kurtz walked to open the game, swiftly stole second, and scored the tying run, and RBI hits from Brooke Belflower and Talley Cole put Avila on top 3-1 after one.

The Eagles were right back at it in the second, scoring three more runs on five total hits, including RBIs from Belflower, Ka'Zem Wood and Julia Douglass. Bethel did not go away quietly by any means: Ella Caudill hit a two-run double in the third and even though Wood doubled in Kurtz in the third to keep Avila ahead 7-3 the Threshers completed the comeback by scoring two unearned runs in the fifth and two earned runs in the sixth on a home run by shortstop Dakota Piovesan, tying the score at seven apiece.

All tied up for the first time since the first inning, the Eagles wasted little time getting the lead right back, courtesy of Avila's freshman class. Douglass hit a one-out single, and McKayla Cotton sacrificed pinch-runner Zoleecia Grayson to second. Maya Richards then stepped up and dropped a single into left-center, scoring Grayson as the go-ahead run. Cotton then moved into the circle and struck out a pair of Threshers in a scoreless seventh inning, earning her first career save and securing a wild 8-7 win for the Eagles. Four different Eagles recorded multiple hits, including Wood and Belflower who both also drove in and scored a pair of runs each.

And Tuesday's second game was just about as exciting. Bethel once again struck first in the top of the first, and Avila once again countered with a run in the bottom half when Kurtz singled and scored on a ball hit by Belflower. Piovesan continued her strong day by blasting a long single to left to put Bethel back in front 2-1 in the third, and that was where the score remained until the sixth inning when the Eagles finally broke through against starter Rachel Duer.

Kat Wilds led off the inning with a pinch-hit walk. Wood reentered to run and promptly stole second, and then scored on a double into the left field corner by Belflower. Duer managed to escape the sixth, but after Chaunelle Penn tossed a scoreless seventh the Eagles quickly put Duer under duress again with the game tied at two. Richards led off the inning with a single and a steal, and Cole followed with the same sequence, giving the Eagles second and third with nobody out. Up stepped Katie Wentworth, in the midst of a cold spell at the plate, and Wentworth laid down a perfect squeeze bunt in front of home plate – by the time any Thresher got near the ball, Richards had already hustled home to score the winning run, lifting Avila to a 3-2 victory and a doubleheader sweep.

Samantha Smith was solid over the front four innings for the Eagles, and Penn was literally perfect over the back three, retiring all nine Threshers she faced with a trio of punchouts to earn the win. Cole had a total of four hits on the day and Belflower drove in a total of four runs.

Up next, Avila softball will return to the road to face Kansas Wesleyan in another KCAC doubleheader this Saturday, April 1 in Salina. First pitch is currently scheduled for noon; stay tuned to avilaathletics.com for details on how to watch and follow along, and watch all the action on the KCAC Network.