Lady Eagles Softball Makes It To District Semifinals
The Sullivan Lady Eagles softball team had their toughest district to date. Their fourteen consecutive district champions were cut short with a loss to Blair Oaks. Fatima, Blair Oaks and Sullivan were all ranked in the top six among the class three teams. Sullivan finished the season with a 20-13 record.
Sullivan started the season by winning all their pool games at the Peoples Bank Back To School Classic. The classic is always a good way for the Lady Eagles to get a feel for their roster and learn to adapt for the variety of teams that they face during the season. The Lady Eagles finished fourth in the tournament and Evvie Blankenship and Molly Lohden got starts on the mound in the championship bracket games.
The Lady Eagles lost the first game after the tournament by one run against Windsor, 4-3. Carli McCreary scored Hannah Campbell, but the Lady Owls landed late game home runs. Sullivan picked up the next two wins with double digit runs. They eased past Pacific 12-2, and shut out the Hermann Lady Bearcats in Sullivan. Kayla Ulrich helped Sullivan when she went deep on two long balls in the second inning. Evvie Blankenship gave a stellar performance on the mound.
The next week, the Lady Eagles split two home games and damaged the Lady Wildcats in Union. Evvie Blankenship picked up the win on the mound and Ulrich blasted balls at the plate to give Sullivan the edge in the 8-2 victory. Sullivan traveled to Binder Park and had a heartbreaking weekend. They only picked up one win at the tournament over Lee’s Summit, 4-2.
Sullivan fell to Francis Howell on that following Monday, but more hits rained down on the following day against St. Clair. Both games were played at home, and Sullivan shut out the Lady Tigers after being shut out by Francis Howell. Jaedin Blankenship got the start on the mound and she only gave one hit. She recorded a staggering seven strikeouts. The game was called when Ulrich scored the winning run with a fly ball to left.
After two more wins to start the week, Sullivan headed to Killian Sports Complex in Springfield for a weekend softball tournament. They fell in their first game to Willard, 4-2, and came back in their second game against West Plains, 6-5. The Lady Eagles played Nevada, Battle, and Carl Junction the second day of the tournament. They defeated Nevada and fell to Battle. Sullivan collapsed Carl Junction, 15-0. This time Ava DeClue pitched the whole game and recorded five strikeouts. Ulrich and Alexis Funkhouser each blasted home runs in the sixth inning to give Sullivan the victory.
The Lady Eagles split the next two games with a win over Borgia and defeat at Eureka.
Evvie Blankenship shut out the Lady Knights on the mound and only gave up two hits. The highlight of the two games was when Morgan Braun blasted a home run against Eureka. Later that weekend, Sullivan won the Rolla Tournament. Sullivan fell in their first game against Timberland, 4-3. Lohden scored Dorie Richardson and Funkhouser to give Sullivan the 7-1 edge over Webster Groves in the next game. The offense came alive in the 9-2 defeat over Neosho. Evvie Blankenship helped shut out Farmington in the next game, 4-0. They won the championship game with a 9-3 victory over Willard.
Their districts dreams were cut short this season, but not until after their quarterfinals defeat of Owensville. Evvie Blankenship was immaculate on the mound and pitched another shutout. Ulrich and Richardson each launched home runs in the first inning to give Sullivan the early motivation. The Lady Eagles sealed the win when Ulrich blasted another base clearing homerun in the fourth inning. Sullivan defeated the Dutchgirls, 13-0.
Sullivan finished their season with the district semifinals game against Blair Oaks. The Lady Eagles fell 9-2 in a tough defeat. Blair Oaks fell the next night to the number one seeded team, Fatima. Sullivan scored the first two runs of the game when Lohden bunted a ball in play. Evvie Blankenship pitched all six innings and gave up nine runs on eleven hits. Ulrich was the big hitter of the game and went 2-2 at the plate.