SHAWNEE, Okla. – The Hope International softball team descended upon the Firelake Ball Fields for the prestigious NAIA SB Invitational on Friday, coming away with a 1-1 split. The Royals lost a 1-0 pitcher's duel to No. 6 Grand View before recovering for a 3-2 victory against Benedictine (Kan.).
Vivian Little tossed a complete game against the Ravens and also scored the game-winning run. She was the only Royal to have a hit in both games, finishing the afternoon 3-for-7.
In game one, Kaitlyn Maaske also logged a complete game, but a sixth inning run from the Vikings proved to be the difference as the Royals managed just four hits off starter Madeline Waldorf.
Game 1 – No. 6 Grand View 1, No. 21 Hope International 0
Maaske allowed three walks and two singles through five scoreless innings to the Vikings.
In the sixth inning, Gabriella Taber's two out RBI single scored Elle Nelsen, who had led off with a base hit.
Waldorf retired the final 10 batters as HIU's last hit was an Amanda Esquivel single in the fourth.
HIU's best chance to score came in the second as Gabriela Holmes got to third with one out, but the next two Royals struck out.
Waldorf struck out nine and walked just one in an 87-pitch effort. She moved to 1-1 on the season, while a tough luck loss for Maaske dropped her to 5-4 overall.
Game 2 – No. 21 Hope International 3, RV Benedictine (Kan.) 2
The Royals took awhile to solve Ravens starter Bailey Selvage as she mowed through nine of the first 10 HIU hitters. Little was equally effective for HIU as she set down eight straight Benedictine batters.
HIU broke through with two runs in the fourth. Lily Hernandez reached on an error and Emma McCraw doubled her over to third. The Ravens second baseman misplayed a ground ball by Chey Navarro – the second error of the inning and third of the game for Benedictine (4-4) – as Hernandez scampered home for the 1-0 lead.
McCraw scored the second HIU run on Esquivel's sacrifice fly.
HIU (10-6) made it 3-0 in the fifth, as Hernandez doubled with two outs to score Little from first.
The Ravens loaded the bases in the bottom half of the fifth on two singles and a hit by pitch. Little got a huge double play ground ball off the bat of Lauren Gaitley, although Megan Forsman scored on the play. Alena Velilla's double knocked in the second run, but Little got a fly out to stop any further damage.
Little faced runners at second and third with two outs in the seventh. She got Velilla to ground out to end the game, improving to 4-2 on the season. She struck out four and walked just one in an efficient 75 pitches.
Selvage, who gave up five hits and three runs (one earned) in the complete game effort, fell to 1-2.
The Royals continue play at the NAIA SB Invitational on Saturday, taking on No. 25 Evangel and Mid-America Christian at 12:45 and 3:00 p.m. (PT), respectively.
