SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel Baseball opened conference play against William Penn on Sunday with a doubleheader matchup. Looking to snap a five game losing streak, the Valor came out hot on offense, taking down the Statesmen 5-3 in game one, and 10-5 in game two.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Evangel (10-7) played well in their first game of the day, using timely hits by Athanie Leeviraphan, Nathan Lamb, Dalton Cook, and Noah Suiter to grab an Valor win in game one.
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The Valor had Levi Loughridge (3-2) on the bump in game one against WPU's ace, Nick George (3-1). Noah Suiter was awarded the save in game one after closing the door on any Statesmen comeback.
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In game two, Evangel used a big fourth inning, capped off by a Leeviraphan grand slam to sweep WPU in the first day of doubleheaders.
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Wyatt Keplar (1-2) recorded the win in game two, only giving up one hit to the Statesmen, as WPU's Brian Thomas (2-2) was credited with the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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William Penn got on the board first thanks to a leadoff single and a single by their four hole hitter.
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Evangel answered the lone WPU run by scoring a run of their own with a Cook sacrifice fly that scored Lamb after he singled to lead off the inning.
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The Valor used the bottom of the third to do more damage when Lamb kicked off the inning with a double to left field. Leeviraphan tripled home Lamb, and Cook proceeded to double home Leeviraphan to give EU a 3-1 lead.
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WPU evened the score by using four hits, one for extra bases, in the fourth to tie the game at three apiece.
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In the bottom of the fourth, Lamb again showed his offensive prowess by scoring Stephen Belcher who had gotten on base by singling, giving Evangel a 4-3 lead, one they maintained for the remainder of the game.
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Suiter added an insurance run for EU in the sixth, hitting a solo blast to deep left field.
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Loughridge pitched shut out fifth and sixth innings and Suiter closed the door on any WPU comeback by striking a batter out and forcing a pop up to end the game, stranding two WPU runners on base.
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William Penn kicked off game two with a sacrifice fly and scored a run on an error to take an early 2-0 lead.
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Lamb continued his great day at the plate, leading off the game with a single, and scoring off a Cook double to center field.
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Brandon Ulm quickly tied the game up at two apiece in the second inning by hitting a solo shot to deep left field.
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The Valor could not be stopped offensively and in the third, Leeviraphan tripled home Lamb after he walked to get on base, and Cook again singled to score Leeviraphan, giving EU a 4-2 lead.
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After giving up a run in the fourth inning, Evangel used patience at the plate to score. WPU walked three batters to load the bases for Mason Hansen. Hansen singled to score Aidan Satterfield and keep the bases loaded. Leeviraphan then blasted a grand slam to deep left-center field to blow the game wide open, 9-4.
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The trio of Keplar, Suiter, and Wyatt Blehm shut down WPU, only giving up one run while EU scored another run in the sixth off an Cook sacrifice fly to claim the victory, 10-5.
NOTABLE
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Leeviraphan cranked his third home run of the season in game two, a grand slam that gave him his team leading 24th RBI of the year.
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Loughridge recorded his third win of the season, tied for the most wins on the Evangel squad with Austin Dill.
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Kepler bounced back from his last start, pitching 5.1 innings and earning his first career win on the mound.
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Suiter recorded his second save of the season and currently holds the Evangel lead.
UP NEXT
Evangel will continue conference play and look to build on their sweep on Monday (Mar. 14) with a 12 p.m., doubleheader against William Penn to end their 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.
