Softball Wins Three Games at Home Tournament

SHAWNEE, Kan. – The 2023 NAIA Kansas City Spring Softball Invitational was a roaring success for Avila softball – the Eagles (6-2) won three of their four games, including two by run rule and one over a nationally-ranked opponent in a strong showcase for what the team hopes will become an annual event.

Shawnee's Mid-America Sports Complex was the site of the featured event, which featured 11 teams from across the Midwest. Avila co-hosted the event along with Baker and Park, and the Eagles put together a strong weekend of results against solid competition in front of a strong contingent of fans who made the trek west from campus to watch the team compete in a rare home tournament.

The Eagles began their weekend by facing co-host Baker on Saturday afternoon. It wasn't a rout by any means, but the Wildcats scored runs in five of the seven innings and steadily pulled out to a 7-0 victory to begin the competition. Makayla Akin hit a solo home run and pitched all seven innings for the Wildcats; Julia Douglass led the Eagles with a pair of hits.

Fortunately for the Eagles, their offense quickly got untracked in their next game against Iowa Wesleyan – in this case, the offense got untracked immediately. Chelsea Kurtz walked to lead off the game, promptly stole second and third and then scored on a sacrifice from Talley Cole. And that was just the start. Cole reached on the play and promptly stole second and third herself before Douglass launched her first home run as an Eagle to make it 3-0.

RBIs from Samantha Gatica and Kurtz made it 6-0 Avila after the first inning alone, but the Eagles were far from done. Kat Wilds doubled in a run in the second and singled in a run in the third and Douglass drove in two more runs in the second, staking Avila to a massive 12-0 lead after three innings. The Tigers scored the game's final four runs but it was not enough to mount a comeback, much less avoid the run rule: Avila prevailed 12-4 in five innings. Douglass finished with three hits and four RBI; Stephanie Hayes scored three runs for the Eagles.

Avila faced its toughest test of the weekend to start things off on Sunday in the form of No. 16 Columbia, the lone ranked team in the field. Head coach Charlie Kennedy and the Eagles were motivated for this game and it showed: after Columbia scored the first run of the game Avila erupted for 11 of the final 12 to earn their first ranked victory of the campaign.

Trailing 1-0 going into the third, Wilds remained scorching hot at the plate with a go-ahead two-run double to put Avila in front 3-1. The Cougars pulled back to within 3-2 after four, but solo home runs from Brooke Belflower and Halle Benskin kept the Eagles in front.

Then Avila started to pour it on against reliever Suzanna Shanks in the sixth. Douglass drove in Kurtz with another key hit, followed by a two-run single from Hayes to put the Eagles in front 8-2. Then Wilds stepped up and mashed a three-run homer to center, Avila's third homer of the game, to expand the lead past the requisite eight runs. Payton Walter returned to the circle and tossed a perfect bottom of the sixth, wrapping up the statement 11-2 victory for the Eagles.

Avila rounded out its weekend by facing Missouri Valley in a game that couldn't have been much different from the Eagles' previous two. An RBI single from Katie Wenworth in the first inning was canceled by an RBI double from Chrisha Gray in the second, and neither team's offense had much success from that point forward.

Finally, Avila broke through against Viking starter Kim Horsten in the sixth. With one out, Wentworth lined a double to the left field wall. Zoleecia Grayson entered to pinch run and Douglass delivered yet another clutch hit with a single up the middle to put the Eagles in front. Kayla Kindler came on to pinch run and swiftly stole second and scored on another single from Hayes, doubling the lead to 3-1.

That was all the breathing room that Chaunelle Penn would need. The Vikings managed to load the bases in the seventh inning, but Penn got cleanup hitter Sydnee Weber to ground out to end the threat and seal a 3-1 victory for the Eagles in a 3-1 weekend overall. Penn threw the full seven innings for the Eagles, allowing one run on four hits.

It was an impressive weekend overall for the Eagles, with more than a few highlights. Hayes led the squad with a .625 average, driving in three runs and scoring four. Douglass led the team with seven hits, driving in six runs; Kurtz hit .500 and stole seven more bases; and Wilds hit .500 and drove in seven with a slugging percentage of 1.000.

Up next, Avila softball will hit the road for the first time this season when the Eagles travel to Sioux Center, Iowa to participate in the Dordt Classic. The Eagles will play two games on Friday beginning at 2 PM and two more on Saturday beginning at 10 AM. For details on how to watch and follow along, check out the schedule page here on avilaathletics.com.