by KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Payton Walter was excellent in game one, allowing just one unearned run over seven full innings in a narrow loss, and Chaunelle Penn was nearly perfect in game two, throwing Avila softball’s first no-hitter since 2015 and leading the Eagles (24-15, 11-5 KCAC) to a split against McPherson (15-15, 8-8 KCAC) on Thursday afternoon at The Z.
Thursday’s first game featured about the strongest pair of pitching performances possible. Payton Walter was excellent for the Eagles once again, allowing one run to come across in the first inning but then shutting out the Bulldogs for the final six frames, ultimately completing the full seven on seven hits with one walk and six punchouts.
The Bulldogs started the scoring in a hectic top of the first – after both Tatyana Alvarado and Lacy Weaver singled to put runners on the corners with one out, Weaver stole second and an Eagle error allowed Alvarado to score the game’s first run.
That would be the game’s only run, because as good as Walter was for the Eagles, Raegan Kleppe was even better for the Bulldogs. Avila threatened more than once in the game, but the veteran Kleppe turned in a vintage performance, allowing just three hits and one walk over seven shutout innings. Both Ka’Zem Wood and Talley Cole doubled off Kleppe and got to third base, but the Eagles were never able to break through in a 1-0 win for McPherson.
Avila’s offense had no such trouble in game two Thursday. Sophomore Jordyn Johnson has arguably had a better season than the senior Kleppe for McPherson this year, but the Eagles made her life difficult from the second inning on, drawing three walks and tallying eight hits, all singles, to score six runs off Johnson over her four innings of work.
The outbreak began in the second inning with a one-out single by McKayla Cotton. Pinch-runner Jordy Pollo stole second and scored on a base hit by Julia Douglass, and after Douglass and Cole pulled off a successful double steal, Cole scored on an Ellysa Butterfield sacrifice bunt and Douglass scored on an infield single by Chelsea Kurtz, putting the Eagles up 3-0.
Two innings later, it was more of the same for the Eagles. Cole led off the fourth with a walk and Kurtz beat out another infield hit and both runners stole a base, giving the Eagles second and third with two outs. Ka’Zem Wood stepped up and delivered a chopper through the shortstop hole to drive in both runs, and then scored on a base hit by Brooke Belflower to increase the lead out to 6-0.
Meanwhile, Penn was absolutely mowing down McPherson. She breezed through the first time through the lineup with minimal resistance, needing only 30 pitches to get through the first three innings, and racking up a punchout in each of the first four frames. The Bulldogs finally got their first baserunner of the game when Weaver reached on an error to begin the fifth, but after a flyout Penn erased that baserunner herself by kickstarting a 1-6-3 double play to send the Bulldogs down in order for the fifth straight inning.
And Avila made sure Penn would not have to come back for a sixth. Now facing Alyvia Quintana with Johnson out of the game, Stephanie Hayes was hit by a pitch, Cotton singled and both Cotton and pinch-runner Maya Richards stole bases successfully to once again give the Eagles second and third with one out. Cole hit a chopper to short, but the throw going to home from the McPherson shortstop went wayward, allowing Richards to score without a contest. Moments later, Cole took off for second and the Bulldog catcher tried to cut her down, enabling Cotton to steal home as the trailing runner. Avila’s 11th stolen base of the game also served as the winning run in an 8-0 victory in five innings.
Chaunelle Penn ended up facing 15 batters and needed only 57 pitches to record 15 outs, narrowly missing out on a perfect game. Still, even though the game lasted only five innings, this was the first no-hitter for an Eagle in almost exactly eight years: the last no-hitter came on April 11, 2015, when Tori Aziere walked the first batter she faced but then retired everyone else for a 7-inning no-hitter in a 2-0 win for Avila over Benedictine.
