Springfield, Mo. - The No. 7 Central Methodist softball program recorded its fourth-straight doubleheader sweep Wednesday night, defeating Evangel University by scores of 3-0 and 9-3 in Springfield, Mo.
The Eagles improve their overall record to 21-1 and 6-0 in the Heart. Evangel falls to 11-5 and 0-4 in conference action.
Game one was a low-scoring affair, but the Eagles brought the first run home when Morgan Willis drew a bases-loaded walk to score Micaela Harcrow in the top of the second inning.
Leading 1-0 in the seventh, Central scored two more runs to push its lead to 3-0. After back-to-back singles from Kelena Oots and Willis, Kelli Gorman loaded the bases with a walk which brought Hannah Criswell home.
Criswell then sent a hard-hit ball down the left-field line for a two-RBI double. Three runs are all it would take for the Eagles, as they recorded their ninth shut-out victory of the year.
Junior pitcher Keighlan Cronin earned her 10th win of 2021, tossing all seven innings and giving up no runs on four hits and one walk. She also struck out 10 batters, marking the seventh time this season that the St. Charles, Mo. native has recorded double-digit strikeouts.
The Eagles finished game one with six hits, led by Oots who collected two along with a run scored. Willis, Criswell, White, and Katelyn Kolb each picked up a hit as well.
In-game two, Central's offense jumped out of the gate quickly, scoring six runs in the third inning, highlighted by an RBI triple from Willis and a three-RBI triple from Adalia Sewell.
CMU added three more runs in the sixth, as Gorman recorded an RBI triple to centerfield, followed by RBI singles from Madison Love and Sewell.
Evangel responded with two runs in the bottom half of the sixth, pushing game two to a full seven innings. Despite the Crusaders scoring an additional run in the final inning, Central held on to earn a 9-3 victory.
As a team, CMU collected 12 hits and drew 10 walks. Willis led the offense batting a perfect four-for-four including an RBI-triple. Sewell batted .400 and picked up four RBI including a bases-clearing triple in the third.
Love threw all seven innings for the Eagles, giving up two earned runs on nine hits. She also recorded six strikeouts and allowed only one walk en-route to her ninth win of the year.
Central returns home to host Graceland University Saturday, March 27 in a doubleheader, with the first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. from Cox Softball Complex.
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