Softball Finishes California Trip with Four Total Wins

COSTA MESA and FULLERTON, Calif. – Avila softball (15-9) finished its Spring Break trip through the state of California with a total of four victories after dropping a pair to (RV) Vanguard (19-5) on Tuesday before splitting with Menlo (11-13) on Thursday.

It was a somewhat bittersweet end to a much anticipated trip for the Eagles after the start to the week, which included some rare national recognition for Stephanie Hayes and three wins out of four against Westcliff and NAIA No. 7 Hope International. Still, Avila knew that this would be a challenging slate of opponents and an opportunity to throw a lot of different players into different, new situations, and that's exactly what this week provided. All in all, a 4-4 record in these eight games is not a bad result at all.

First off, in the Eagles' third doubleheader in three days, Avila faced off with (RV) Vanguard in a game that turned into the dictionary definition of a pitcher's duel. Neither offense was able to do much of anything at all against starters Brianna Williams and McKayla Cotton through regulation, which sent the opener into extra innings.

With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, a runner is automatically placed on second base in the eighth inning and beyond, making it much easier to push runs across – and both teams finally did in that situation. The road team, Avila got the first run on the board with a base hit up the middle by Ka'Zem Wood, but the Eagles were unable to add on, and the Lions played small ball with a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to tie the score. Vanguard then eliminated the free baserunner with a caught steal to end the top of the ninth, and in the bottom half the Lions bunted their runner over and brought her in with a pinch-hit single from Mackenzie Hofmann to win the game 2-1.

The Eagles managed just five hits in the game off Williams, including a pair from Julia Douglass. Cotton gave up just six hits in eight-plus, and struck out five, while Williams whiffed 12 Eagles.

Offenses were tampered down in Tuesday's first game, but both teams managed to get untracked in the second game. Unfortunately for the Eagles, while they more than kept pace with the Lions in game one that was decided in the bottom of the ninth, that was not the case in game two: Vanguard scored runs in four of the five innings, including more than one unearned run, to win the game 10-2 and wrap things up early.

Chelsea Kurtz manufactured the first run of the game as she often does, beating out an infield single, stealing second, and scoring on a misplay to put the Eagles up 1-0. But in the bottom half, Vanguard's Kamryn Walker reached base and scored in the same wacky sequence of events and two runs came in, giving the Lions a lead they would not relinquish. Avila got one back in the third on an RBI single from Douglass scoring Kelly Kight to make it 3-2, but Vanguard countered with three in the third and four in the fifth, wrapping up the game via run-rule with a pinch-hit two-run single from Adrianna Natividad.

Katie Wentworth and Hallie Campbell both recorded a pair of hits for the Eagles in the contest.

The squad got a much needed off day on Wednesday before they returned to the scene of their split with HIU, Bastanchury Park, for a neutral site doubleheader against Menlo on Thursday. In game one, it was Avila that got off to a great start, scoring in each of the first three innings to stake Chaunelle Penn to an early lead.

And once again, it was the long ball that paved the way for the Eagles' success. Stephanie Hayes and Brooke Belflower both delivered big flies off starter Gabby De Leon in the first inning, and Wood then scored on a wild pitch in the second to make it 3-0, chasing De Leon from the game. Menlo plated two in response in the bottom half on a bit of an unconventional play, but Hayes came right back up and teed off on Brianna Gonzalez for her second homer of the day to give the Eagles a 4-2 edge.

And that additional run proved pivotal, because Menlo mounted a serious threat in the bottom of the fifth. The Oaks ultimately loaded the bases without a hit in the inning and plated one run on a sac fly, but Avila recorded outs on the basepaths courtesy of both Katie Wentworth and Chelsea Kurtz to dodge further damage and keep the lead intact. McKayla Cotton entered in that inning to help get the Eagles through, and then tossed two clean innings of relief to preserve the 4-3 win for Penn and earn the save.

The second game of the doubleheader was as close as the first one, until it wasn't. With the score tied after seven, the Oaks struck in a big way to make the score look a lot more lopsided than it was, and deny Avila a chance at a series sweep.

Menlo got off and running early with three earned runs in the first inning. Avila got one back in the second when Laila Rueda scored on an error, but Menlo negated that with a solo home run from Alexandra Attard, making the score 4-1. Avila had the big bats ready too, however: back to back solo bombs from Hayes and Myra Megli got the Eagles within a run, and then a single from Kelly Kight chased starter Morgan Nelson in the fourth. A sacrifice from Savannah Salgado got Kight to second, and Kight then stole third to move up another bag, and Kennedee Lara delivered a clutch knock to plate Kight, and level the score at four apiece.

The Eagles had a real chance to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh but could not, and once the game moved into extra innings the Oaks did not miss their chance. Menlo struck for seven runs on five hits with one error in the eighth inning to take a massive lead on Cotton and the Eagles, and Avila had no response – Menlo's big inning powered an 11-4 win in extras.

Over the course of the eight games, Kurtz led the Eagles in hits with nine (.360 average), drove in five runs and scored five, and stole 15 bases. Douglass led the team in average (.412) among regulars; Hayes led in RBI (7), and both Hayes and Belflower homered three times. In the circle, Cotton finished the week 1-1 with two saves and a 1.97 ERA with a .247 average against over 21.1 innings.

Up next, Avila will return home to Kansas City and resume KCAC competition starting this Sunday, March 17. Avila welcomes York to The Z for a rare Sunday doubleheader which begins at noon CT. As always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the Avila Sports Network.