No. 5 Avila Falls to USM, Blanks OKWU to Advance in KCAC Softball Championship

GREAT BEND, Kan. – Reigning KCAC Tournament champions Avila made its return to Great Bend for the first day of the 2024 KCAC Softball Championship on Wednesday, where the No. 5-seeded Eagles (32-20) recovered from a first round loss to No. 4 Saint Mary by shutting out No. 6 Oklahoma Wesleyan to secure a spot in the second day of the postseason.

The Eagles famously went unbeaten through the KCAC field, allowing only three runs in total, en route to last year's tournament title. But this time around, the Eagles surrendered more runs in their first game of the event than they did over four games last year, and fell in their first matchup in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup against USM, meaning the Eagles will now have to win every game the rest of the way to retain their tournament title and book a second straight spot in the NAIA Opening Round.

Avila won both games against Saint Mary at The Z earlier this year, but the Spires are in form going into the postseason and got off to a flying start in both team's postseason opener late Wednesday morning. The start time was shifted up by an hour to account for imminent weather that never truly arrived, and the USM offense seemed unaffected by the earlier start. Both Abigail Kudym and Alexis Hughes drew walks with the bases loaded to force in two runs for the Spires in the first inning, and then Saint Mary added three more in the fourth inning, capped by a two-run single from Sadie McWilliams.

Even with offense coming in only two innings, Saint Mary built up a big 5-0 lead off two Eagle pitchers, while Avila was unable to get more than one baserunner per inning over the front five frames against Grace Rose, who has become USM's top pitcher over the last two months. Finally though, the Eagles broke through against her in the sixth. Ka'Zem Wood walked and stole second and Stephanie Hayes singled to give the Eagles two baserunners with two outs, and Hallie Campbell stepped up and delivered a two-run double to left to plate both and get Avila on the board for the first time.

Chaunelle Penn worked through a scoreless bottom of the sixth to give Avila a fighting chance in the seventh, but all Avila got in that frame was a two-out walk from Katie Wentworth, and Saint Mary pulled off the 5-2 win to advance to the winner's bracket and send Avila into the consolation.

Avila's first game started at 11 AM local time, but the Eagles' second game didn't start until close to 7 PM, the final game to start up on the tournament's first day. Awaiting Avila there was No. 6-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan, which fell to No. 3 Friends in the second game of the afternoon. For the third straight year, the KCAC Tournament featured an Eagles vs. Eagles matchup, and for the third straight season, it was Avila that ended up on top.

Avila attacked the USM game with its staff of pitchers – Montana Stangel, Madyson Withey, and Penn – while saving No. 1 pitcher McKayla Cotton to face OKWU. OKWU meanwhile had to use top pitcher Saige Smith in relief against Friends, and then trotted her out again to face Avila, setting up a matchup of the two teams' aces that didn't come to pass when the squads split the doubleheader at The Z in mid-April.

Smith has had a stellar year for OKWU, but on this postseason night Cotton certainly won the battle, and her team's offense came through for her late to give Avila some breathing room it would sorely need. Neither team managed much of anything offensively over the first three innings before Avila was finally the first to break through in the fourth. Hallie Campbell led off the frame with a single and Stangel sacrificed courtesy runner Kelly Kight over the second before Cotton helped her own cause with a base hit through the right side to drive in the first run of the game.

OKWU threatened in every inning in the second half of the game, but Cotton and the Eagle defense came through time and again to somehow evade every single OKWU threat. Cotton struck out both Maddy Wiese and Laramie Neff to strand two baserunners in the fourth, and then the Avila offense came through in the fifth thanks to singles from both Emily Branson and Chelsea Kurtz to make it 2-0.

Oklahoma Wesleyan loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but Cotton got cleanup hitter Jess Watson to fly out to Laila Rueda in left to avoid another trouble spot. Smith put up a zero in the sixth, and Cotton returned serve by stranding two more runners in scoring position in the home half.

Finally, Avila broke things open in the top of the seventh. Wentworth walked and Kurtz singled and stole to open the frame, and both Wood and Campbell recorded RBIs in the frame to put Avila in front 4-0. That felt like a safe lead, but Oklahoma Wesleyan threatened once again, mounting a two-out rally with two walks and a single, sending the tying run to the plate. OKWU put its fate in the hands of pinch hitter Brooklyn Purtell, and after a battle, Cotton got her to ground out to Branson at short, putting the finishing touches on a complete-game shutout in a 4-0 postseason win for Avila.

That victory keeps the Eagles alive into Thursday in Great Bend, and now Avila will now have to win three more times to escape the consolation bracket and make it to the championship series, which is currently scheduled for Friday. Up first, Avila will face No. 2-seeded Ottawa, which lost to Friends in the winner's bracket late on Wednesday. That game is scheduled to start at noon. If the Eagles win, they will advance to face either Tabor or Saint Mary next in the consolation bracket at approximately 4:15. For more content and updates from the week in Great Bend, stay tuned to Avila Athletics on social media and avilaathletics.com.