OTTAWA, Kan. – Evangel opened its 2022 softball season Tuesday (Feb. 8) afternoon, with NAIA ranked #7 Ottawa at Alumni Field in Ottawa, Kan. Evangel took a thrilling 10 inning game one, thanks to Ashland Diggs shutting down the Ottawa offense in the 10th. Game two resulted in a tie, 1-1, after Samantha Romano and the Valor defense held Ottawa to a lone run scored in the first inning.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Emmitt struck out six and allowed four runs over 5.1 innings while Diggs (1-0) pitched 4.1 relief innings, giving up no earned runs to earn the game one victory.
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Evangel capitalized on several Ottawa errors, scoring three runs on errors alone.
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Ottawa used a big sixth inning to force extras in game one, scoring four runs to even the game at four runs apiece.
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Each team traded runs in the 8th and 9th innings, but EU's lone run in the 10th and defensive shutdown of the Braves gave them the game one victory.
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Romano pitched a no-hitter in game two which ended early due to no lights being present at Alumni Field. The game was declared a tie, 1-1, after five innings of play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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Mariah Hanner singled in the top of the 2nd and advanced all the way home on a walk, groundout, and an error on Ottawa's third baseman to score the first run of the ballgame.
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Megan Stone reached first on an error by Ottawa's shortstop, and eventually scored on a fielder's choice. Josie Allcock proceeded to hit a double, scoring Morgan Shockley who had walked to get on base. Finally, Kaydran Russell grounded out to second base, scoring Allcock to give the Valor a 4-0 lead.
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Ottawa used a strong sixth inning to even the game up at four apiece. Ottawa's Bunfill led the inning off with a double and eventually scored on a passed ball. Ottawa's starting pitcher, Rasmussen, proceeded to homer which sparked a dormant Brave offense. Ottawa loaded the bases and Evangel pitcher Micaiah Cordell hit two batters to allow another two runs to cross the plate.
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In the 10th inning, Ali Raley grounded out to advance Allcock to home, scoring the game winning run as Diggs shut down Ottawa's half of the inning.
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In game two, Ottawa got on the board first, thanks to Bunfill getting hit by a pitch, and scoring off a fielder's choice in the first inning.
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Evangel held Ottawa to just one run, thanks to Romano's pitching and good defensive play.
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The Valor scored their lone run of the game when Abigail Posten kicked off the 5th with a single. Posten then stole second and advanced to home after Stone and Allcock both singled.
NOTABLE
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Diggs recorded her fifth career win on the mound.
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Romano pitched a no hitter in six innings of play in game two.
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Allcock recorded 2 RBIs on the day, good for 53 RBIs in her career.
QUOTABLE
"Ottawa is a great team, I'm proud of the girls for fighting through adversity against a nationally ranked team," Head coach Jay Halbrook said. "Emmitt and Romano both pitched really well for us today, as well as Diggs out of the pen, and offensively we did enough to pull out the win in game one. We played great team defense in game two by giving up no errors."
UP NEXT
Evangel will travel to Leavenworth, Kan., for matchups between host school Saint Mary and Briar Cliff on Friday (Feb. 11). First pitch is slated for 11:00 am on Friday morning.
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.
