Avila Dominates Tabor in Final Home Series

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Avila softball seemed to save the best for last, dominating Tabor (15-23, 8-12 KCAC) by final counts of 11-0 and 7-2 in the Eagles' (29-16, 16-6 KCAC) final home doubleheader of the 2023 season on Saturday afternoon.

Last season in Hillsboro, the Bluejays pulled off a bit of a shocker, defeating Avila twice for Tabor's first wins in the recent all-time series. But this time around, a somewhat shorthanded Eagles team earned some long-awaited retribution, winning via the run rule in game one and then scoring the first seven runs of game two and never looking back. The two losses hurt Tabor's chances of making the KCAC Tournament in two weeks, though the Bluejays are still the No. 8 seed with two game days to go; while the wins help keep Avila in pole position for a top-four seed with only one doubleheader left to play.

It was all Eagles from the jump on a cold April Saturday at The Z. Chelsea Kurtz led off the game with a single, stole a pair of bases, and scored on an error to open the scoring, and shortly thereafter Brooke Belflower doubled and Stephanie Hayes mashed a two-run home run to left, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead.

The party had only just begun. Talley Cole and Kennedee Lara drew walks and Katie Wentworth singled, loading the bases with nobody out in the second. Kurtz then hit a sacrifice fly and both Belflower and Ka'Zem Wood hit run-scoring singles, chasing starter Leilani Rios with two runners still aboard.

Hayes then brought both of those runners in with a single back up the middle and later scored on a Bluejay error, capping off a seven-run, six-hit second inning for the Eagles. McKayla Cotton later doubled in the fourth and scored on a pinch-hit single by Jordy Pollo, rounding out another offensive explosion for the Eagles.

Meanwhile, Payton Walter was in lockdown mode yet again. She allowed only three hits in the game, all of which were singles, and walked one batter against three strikeouts while keeping the Bluejays completely at bay all afternoon long. The Eagle offense helped end the game early, yes, but Walter still tossed her third consecutive complete-game shutout to continue her brilliant senior season and put a bow on an 11-0 Avila victory.

Saturday's second game went the distance but the Eagles had that contest firmly in hand as well, thanks to some more early offense against Tabor's starting pitching. Kurtz walked to lead off the game and swiped another bag, and back-to-back run-scoring hits from Hayes and Cotton gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the first. Wentworth walked and scored in the third before Wood smashed a two-run shot of her own to left, extending the lead to 5-0 early.

The Eagles weren't done. Kurtz worked her magic again in the fifth, beating out a bunt single, stealing two bases, and scoring when Halle Benskin beat out an infield hit to extend the inning. Later, Cotton laced a single into center field plating pinch-runner Ellysa Butterflied, extending the lead out to 7-0.

Chaunelle Penn got the start in the circle for the Eagles and had to navigate some traffic throughout, but Tabor was never able to cash in until the fifth inning when Reese Hefley finally scored the Bluejays' first run of the day. Cotton moved into the circle with the bases loaded and two outs in the frame and got Megan Buerger to fly out, escaping the jam and keeping the Eagles' lead intact. Cotton recorded the final seven outs of the contest and permitted only one run which was unearned, wrapping up the 7-2 win and an authoritative sweep for the Eagles.

Chelsea Kurtz stole a total of five bases across the two games to set a new program record with 63 stolen bases in a season, breaking the previous record of 56…set by her a year ago. She still ranks first in the KCAC in steals by a mile and is just one off the NAIA lead in yet another impressive campaign for The Queen of the Steal.

Up next, Avila softball will conclude the KCAC regular season with one of its toughest tasks yet, a road date against Friends this coming Tuesday, April 25. First pitch in the doubleheader is currently slated for 3 PM; as always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the KCAC Network.