SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Valor continued their weekend doubleheader against Columbia on Saturday, hoping to turn the tide in their favor. Evangel committed several errors in game one, allowing Columbia to grab the victory. In game two, Columbia used a big fifth inning to clinch the weekend sweep of Evangel, 8-4.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Evangel's (8-7) first game of the afternoon was similar to their first game yesterday as they again mustered just four hits, falling 5-1. Columbia capitalized on five Valor errors to claim the win.
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The Cougars' Bryce Taylor (1-1) claimed the victory for Columbia in game one, as Levi Loughridge (2-2) recorded the loss after pitching well, only giving up six hits.
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In game two, Evangel led for the first four innings, thanks to solid pitching by Wyatt Keplar. The fifth inning proved detrimental to the Valor, as EU needed four pitchers to get through the inning.
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Kepler (0-2) received the loss in game two as Jake Deakins (2-1) was credited with the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Columbia used a home run to left field to give themselves a 3-0 lead in the first game.
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The Cougars were able to extend their lead in the third inning, thanks to multiple errors in the inning.
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Columbia was shut down the remainder of the game, but Evangel was only able to score a lone run in the sixth inning, thanks to an Athanie Leeviraphan single, scoring Gage Harris. Evangel went three up, three down, in the seventh inning, giving the Cougars the 5-1 victory.
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Evangel came out hot to begin game two, loading the bases with no outs. Noah Suiter scored one run in the inning, but Columbia escaped relatively unscathed, forcing a double play and a ground out to trail, 1-0.
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The Valor took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, thanks to a Mason Hansen double that scored Nathan Lamb.
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Columbia scored their first run of the game in the fourth, thanks to a sacrifice fly.
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The Cougars blew the game open after Evangel suffered a tough fifth inning. Six runs came across to score for the visiting team as the Valor cycled through their bullpen to record the final two outs of the inning, after Keplar recorded the first out.
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Evangel scored an additional two runs over the remainder of the game, but the damage had been done as Columbia claimed the sweep over Evangel with an 8-4 victory.
NOTABLE
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Leeviraphan recorded an RBI in both games, extending his streak of consecutive games with an RBI to three.
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Hansen finished his day 3-4, walking three times and finishing with two RBIs.
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Tucker Maupin and Dylan Gallup both recorded shutout seventh innings throughout both games.
UP NEXT
Evangel will open conference play and continue the home portion of its schedule Friday (Mar. 11) with a 12 p.m., doubleheader against William Penn to begin a four-game series.
For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.
