Hayes’ Homers, Cotton’s Shutout Lead Eagles to Sweep of Swedes in Conference Opener

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – McKayla Cotton fired a complete-game shutout behind an Eagle offensive explosion in game one, and Stephanie Hayes hammered two critical home runs in a tightly-contested game two, leading Avila softball (11-5, 2-0 KCAC) to a sweep of Bethany (7-7, 0-2 KCAC) on Wednesday afternoon at The Z.

Avila welcomed Bethany back to Kansas City for the second straight season in what's become a real rivalry matchup between the two programs. In the first set of conference games played by any teams in the KCAC in 2024, the Eagles were looking to make a statement as they seek to improve on last season's excellent finish: and after these two games, consider that statement made. Avila battered Bethany with a 10-0 run-rule win in game one before eking out an exciting 4-3 victory in game two to kick off conference play with a pair of wins.

McKayla Cotton set the tone with a scoreless top of the first on Wednesday, and that set the table for the Eagle offense to have a field day against Morgan Pennycuff, who had been the Swedes' ace to this point in the year. Chelsea Kurtz got everything started with a walk and a steal, two things she's been adept at in her career, and scored the game's first run on an error. Julia Douglass later doubled the lead with a sacrifice fly, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead after one inning.

And the second inning was where the Eagles really made their mark. Pennycuff got the first two outs via punchouts, but the Eagles then brought out their big bats to do some serious damage. Kurtz beat out a bunt single and Katie Wentworth followed with a walk, and Montana Stangel followed by clearing the center-field fence with a three-run home run to make it 5-0.

The Eagles were far from done. After the homer from Stangel, the next three Eagles – Brooke Belflower, Stephanie Hayes, and Douglass – all doubled to plate two more. Four straight extra-base hits spelled the end of the day for Pennycuff and put the Eagles one run away from an early victory. And in the fourth, the Eagles cracked the eight-run plateau in a big way when Hayes cranked a three-run homer, the second of those by an Eagle in the game, to left field to put Avila up by ten.

Bethany put up a threat for the first time in the fifth inning with their backs against the wall, loading the bases with only one out, needing to score at least three to extend the game. But Katie Wentworth made a heads-up play to cut down a runner at home on a fielder's choice, preserving the shutout, and Cotton then struck out featured Swede hitter Lilliana Martinez for the third time to clinch a complete-game shutout in a shortened five-inning contest, which saw the Eagles prevail in an emphatic 10-0 victory.

The first game of the doubleheader was all Avila, but Bethany strapped back in for game two, and the two conference rivals put on a show in the nightcap. Martinez, the former First Team All-KCAC two-way player, was on the bump for Bethany, but the Eagles were unafraid. In fact, the Swedes staked Martinez to leads on two different occasions, and the Eagles answered immediately both times to earn a victory in a close contest.

The Swedes cracked the scoreboard for the first time with an unearned run off Montana Stangel in the second inning, but the Eagles punched right back for the first of two times in the game, knotting the score off a solo homer from Hayes in the second before Stangel gave herself the lead with an RBI single in the third, her first hit of the year to not go for extra bases.

That put the Eagles ahead 3-2, and this time it was Bethany's turn to punch back: Melinda Cratty tied the game with a double in the fifth, and Alison Rosa scored on a wild pitch to put the Swedes back in front 4-3. Freshman righty Madyson Withey entered with only one out and after allowing a walk retired the next two Swedes to keep the deficit at one and give her team a chance to come back.

And that's exactly what the Eagles did. Still facing Martinez in the bottom of the fifth, Maya Richards led off with a pinch-hit single. Martinez got the next two outs, but Hayes reentered the game and teed off on Martinez for the second time, blasting a homer literally off the "fair" pole down the left field line. After a moment of deliberation, the long ball was confirmed, and the Eagles had their second lead of the game, 4-3.

Now armed with a lead, Avila turned it over to sophomore righty Aarilynn Richardson to finish the game. A double play keyed by Wentworth at third got the Eagles through a scoreless sixth, and after Avila went down in order against Martinez in the bottom half, the Swedes threatened once more in the seventh, putting two runners on base off of two singles. With the go-ahead run now aboard, Richardson locked it down, getting a popout and a flyout to stamp out the threat, and wrap up a 4-3 victory for the Eagles with a two-inning save.

Hayes finished 5-for-5 on the day with three home runs. Of the 14 runs scored by the Eagles in the two games, the sophomore slugger drove in seven.

Up next, Avila softball will make its second big road trip of the campaign when the Eagles head out to California to play four doubleheaders against four teams over the course of five days in the Golden State. Avila will play games on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in California before the Eagles head home to face York in league play on Sunday afternoon. Action on all four days begins at noon local time, 2 PM Kansas City time. First, Avila will face Westcliff in a pair of games on Sunday afternoon followed by a pair against NAIA No. 7 Hope International on Monday. For details on how to watch and follow along, stay tuned to Avila Athletics on social media and our website, avilaathletics.com.