Softball Lands Third At Back To School Classic

The Lady Eagles (2-3) got back in action at the ninth annual Peoples Bank Back to School Classic. Sullivan’s season-opening tournament occurred at the Campbell-Chapman Sports Complex from Aug. 30 to 31.

They finished third out of twelve teams, while Fatima was the champion, Capital City took second and Linn won consolation. 

Head coach Ashley Crump was proud of Sullivan’s efforts, stating, “[We] definitely saw some good things and definitely have a list of things I want to work on for sure... But this is the opening tournament, so [it is our] first time being out there with a lot of different people in different positions. So I’m excited to get to practice and to work on things, but overall, I feel pretty positive about it.”

Evvie Blankenship, Ava Declue and Carli McCreary earned spots on the all-tournament team. 

In her five games, Blankenship hit .545, leading the Lady Eagles with six RBIs and six hits. She also recorded three runs and two walks at the plate, with ten strikeouts on the mound. Blankenship’s highlight of the weekend was when she delivered a home run against Linn.

Declue struck out eleven batters in nine innings. She brought in 3 RBIs, three hits and a run at the plate.

McCreary received a medal for her performance in the catcher’s box. When batting, she grabbed three hits, an RBI and a walk.

Molly Lohden scored a team-high five runs. She also loaded up three hits, three walks and an RBI.

Rae Corwin stacked up four hits, two RBIs, two runs and two walks.

Dorie Richardson took four walks, a run, an RBI and a hit.

Ella Blanton made rookie strides with four hits, 2 RBIs and a run while batting .444.

Kennedi Roach racked up three runs, three hits and an RBI for her freshman debut.

Kynlee Peterson notched 2 RBIs, two hits, a run and a walk.

Evelyn Harris tallied a run and a hit.

Freshman Elli Crump punched it home twice.

The Lady Eagles won two of their three pool play games on Friday, qualifying them for the championship bracket. 

Sullivan kicked off their season with a 5-4 victory over Webster Groves. Madi Ortner was the starting pitcher, and Mia Pridemore shut the door on the Statesmen. Both struck out a batter.

Right after, the Lady Eagles fell 5-2 to Blair Oaks in a hard-fought battle. Blankenship executed six strikeouts against the Lady Falcons.

A few hours later, Sullivan beat Linn 5-4 to clinch the top seed in Pool A. Their final match on Friday ended dramatically. The Lady Wildcats rallied to four runs to tie and send the game into extra innings. The Lady Eagles returned to bat in the bottom of the sixth, but a double play put them on the ropes with two outs on the board. Freshman Blanton faced the music, smoking a line drive to left field for a single. Roach, also a rookie, answered the call with a walk-off RBI, allowing Blanton to punch it home for victory.

A. Crump was pleased with the two freshmen “for putting up great bats together and ultimately winning the ball game.” She described it as “really cool,” saying, “Hopefully, it gave them a big confidence boost and the rest of the team too. Like, hey, these girls can get it done, and then if we are down or in a tough spot, they’re not going to give up.”

Declue threw a gem against Linn and pitched all six innings. She fired seven strikeouts while giving up no earned runs. 

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