Sullivan Suffers Heartbreak Over Weekend

The Lady Eagles softball team traveled to Binder Park in Jefferson City over the weekend. They won the first game they played on Friday but fell in their last three games. This ended a very tough week of battles that Sullivan already overcame earlier in the week. Sullivan split the two games they played on Friday with a win over Lee’s Summit, 4-2, and a defeat by Fatima, 16-0. The Lady Eagles were defeated in the two games they played on Saturday. Sullivan fell to Father Tolton, 13-8, and Helias, 9-1.

Lee’s Summit

The Lady Eagles recorded ten hits to help secure their win for the first game of the tournament in Jefferson City. Evvie Blankenship was the winning pitcher on the mound and she tallied five strikeouts. When Jaedin Blankenship pitched in relief, she added two strikeouts.

Sullivan came alive right away when the lead off batter, Kayla Ulrrich, smacked a hard ground ball to right to land on first. After two outs, Jaedin Blankenship hit a hard ground ball to find first base and advance Ulrich.  Evvie Blankenship singled on a line drive to left and scored Ulrich.

The Lady Eagles added two more runs their next turn at bat. Dorie Richardson hit a hard ground ball to left for a single. After two outs, Richardson advanced to third. Ulrich was walked with both runners scoring when Morgan Braun blasted a fly ball double to left. Lee’s Summit tallied their two runs at the top of the third inning, but they were still down by one.

Sullivan secured the win in the bottom of third by scoring another run. Jaedin Blankenship singled on a fly ball to left. After a double play, Molly Lohden delivered on a line drive double to left. Richardson then followed that double with another big double and scored Lohden to win, 4-2.

Fatima

The Lady Eagles were heartbroken during their next game of the day. Jaedin Blankenship got her first start of the season on the mound. She gave up eight runs on four hits. Ava DeClue came in to finish out the inning and gave up another five runs on four hits. Lohden finished out the game on the mound and gave up three runs on three hits. Sullivan couldn’t secure a run and fell, 16-0.

Braun secured the only hit for Sullivan at the bottom of the first inning.

Father Tolton

Sullivan played two games the following day. They came up on the short end of a high scoring game, 13-8. The Lady Trailblazers landed seven runs in the fifth inning to help secure the win.

Evvie Blankenship got the start for Sullivan and gave up six runs on eight hits. She recorded a staggering seven strikeouts. Jaedin Blankenship was the losing pitcher for Sullivan, giving up six runs on five hits.

Father Tolton drew first blood, but Sullivan tied it up at the bottom of the second. Lohden landed on first after she hit a ground ball and reached on an error. She then stole second and reached third after Richardson ground out. Hayli Venable reached first on a bunt and scored Lohden.

At the bottom of the third, Sullivan added five runs to take control. Braun singled on a line drive before she advanced to second on a wild pitch. Alexis Funkhouser was walked before Jaedin Blankenship ground out and advanced the runners. Evvie Blankenship walked and Hannah Campbell came in as a courtesy runner for her. Braun scored after Lohden hit a fly ball single and advanced the other runners. The second out was recorded when Richardson hit a sacrifice fly that scored Funkhouser. Venable hit a single to load the bases. Campbell scored after Grace Halmick hit a hard ground ball and reached first on an error Ulrich then singled on a hard ground ball and Lohden and Venable both scored.

Father Tolton scored five runs at the top of the fourth and seven runs in the top of the fifth. Sullivan scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth but fell, 13-8. Venable led the Lady Eagles at the plate, going 3-3.

Helias

Evvie Blankenship got the start on the mound for Sullivan. She was the losing pitcher of the game as she gave up nine runs off five hits. She also tallied two strikeouts. Jaedin Blankenship pitched in relief and only gave up two hits, though Sullivan fell to Helias, 9-1.

The only time the Lady Eagles saw a run cross the plate was at the top of the first. Ulrich launched a huge fly ball to right and landed with a triple. Braun then hit a pop fly and reached on an error. Braun then stole second. Ulrich scored when Jaedin Blankenship ground out to third.

Helias tied the game at their next at bat. They scored again, adding three more runs in the bottom of the second. The Lady Crusaders secured the win at the bottom third when they added five more runs.

Up Next: Sullivan has another big week ahead, starting on Monday and Tuesday, with two home games against Francis Howell and St. Clair. The Lady Eagles finish out the week at St. James on Thursday.