(RV) Softball Recovers to Secure Split versus Kansas Wesleyan

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After coming up short in game one, (RV) Avila (27-15, 14-6 KCAC) recovered in a big way to defeat Kansas Wesleyan (20-16, 9-11 KCAC) by one run in game two and escape with a split against the Coyotes on Saturday afternoon at The Z.

It was not a must-win set of games for the Eagles, who are still in the top three in the conference standings with only three series left to play, but after losing a pair to Evangel earlier in the week and dropping the first game Saturday to a red-hot KWU squad, a win in game two proved critically important for Avila, which can now turn its attention to a solid Oklahoma Wesleyan side which comes to town on Wednesday afternoon.

Kansas Wesleyan was a tournament team last year but looked like KCAC afterthoughts just last month. Not long ago, the Coyotes were 2-10 in league play, but had won six in a row coming into the games on Saturday. The Eagles were a bit colder on the form spectrum, and Kansas Wesleyan did enough to keep the Eagles at bay and pull off a win in the series opener.

Facing newly installed Coyote ace Caitlyn Collier, Avila struck for two runs on three hits off her in the second inning, with Montana Stangel doubling in Stephanie Hayes and scoring on a single from Savannah Salgado, who drew into the starting lineup for just the fourth time this season. The Eagles looked to be in good shape, with McKayla Cotton in a rhythm after throwing four scoreless, but after an extremely wacky fifth inning that featured a literal rulebook review that resulted in an ejection and a pitching change, the Coyotes were able to find some life.

After much discussion, Cotton departed with the bases loaded and nobody out. Madyson Withey entered into an unenviable situation and managed to escape the jam with only one run scoring, thanks largely to a double play capped by a relay at the plate from Salgado to Emily Branson to Myra Megli. KWU got right back to work after that and scratched across three unearned runs against Withey over the final two innings to grab the lead after all, and after Avila got three hits off Collier in the second inning they managed just one hit off her the rest of the way and Kansas Wesleyan prevailed 4-2 in an upset win.

The Eagles needed to rebound in a hurry, and they wasted no time in doing so. Jewell Henry struggled as KWU's No. 2 starter a season ago but had been riding a hot streak in that role this season – a hot streak that ended Saturday when Avila blitzed her for three runs in the bottom of the first. After a rare hitless day in game one, Chelsea Kurtz led off game two with a single through the left side and promptly stole both second and third – that didn't matter much, though, because Ka'Zem Wood brought her home with a no-doubter to right field. Later, Stangel singled and Hayes walked, and Megli placed a base hit into left field to bring Stangel in, putting Avila on top 3-0 and knocking Henry out of the game in the first inning.

Once again, Avila looked to be sitting pretty, but once again, KWU had other ideas. The Coyotes took advantage of a few too many walks from Stangel and rallied to score four in the top of the second to immediately take a 4-3 lead. Miranda Fogal had been Kansas Wesleyan's ace all of last year and much of this year, but had seen her opportunities dwindle over the last month. The Coyotes counted on her here with Henry knocked out, and the Eagles were able to do enough to rally past her twice and earn what became a comeback win.

Playing the table-setter role perfectly, Kurtz walked to begin the second against Fogal and stole second, adding to her team lead. Up stepped Salgado, elevated to the two-spot in the order due to her recent hot streak, and she drilled a single into right field to plate Kurtz and tie the game. Some more walks and some small ball helped KWU go back in front off a Sydnee Fordham sac fly in the fourth, but Kurtz and Salgado combined once again to push home the tying run in the home half.

Aarilynn Richardson gave the Eagles two critical innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits with two strikeouts over her two frames, keeping the Coyotes at bay long enough for Avila to strike. And in the bottom of the sixth, the top of the order came through again. Kurtz once again led off with a single and once again stole second, with KWU unable to do anything to stop her. Once again, up stepped Salgado, who delivered a clutch double to right field, her third hit of the game, to give the Eagles a lead again.

Avila had chances to score more but Fogal was able to strand Salgado at third and keep the deficit at one. In a move that's fairly common to the KCAC, Avila sent game one starter McKayla Cotton back to the circle to close out game two, and the Coyotes once again made her work for it. With one out, KWU loaded the bases with only one hit, threatening to seize the game right there, but Katie Wentworth made a critical play to force out Josie Buhr at home on a suicide squeeze, and Wood made a running catch on a Hailey Summers liner to right field to secure the save for Cotton and a tense 6-5 win for the Eagles.

The top of the lineup made the difference for the Eagle offense in this game. The top three hitters in the order combined for seven of the team's nine hits, and drove in four of the six runs. Wood went 2-for-3 with the two-run homer; Salgado had a career high three hits and two RBI; and Kurtz reached all four times she batted, and scored all four times she reached. She's the only Eagle to score four or more runs in a game this season, and she's now done it twice. Richardson improved to 3-0 on the season with her two scoreless innings, and Cotton earned her fourth save.

Up next, Avila softball will host its final KCAC doubleheader of the season this coming Wednesday, April 16, when Avila welcomes the conference's other Eagle squad, Oklahoma Wesleyan, to The Z. The doubleheader is set to begin at 2 PM; as always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the Avila Sports Network.