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Evangel survived a pair of big rallies from Ezekiel to secure the ACSC softball championship as the Lightning won all three games in the conference tournament. (Contributed)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – The Evangel Christian Lightning took care of business in the Alabama Christian Schools Conference softball tournament, sweeping away the competition to seal another conference championship, but not without a pair of dramatic results.

Evangel finished the ACSC softball tournament with a perfect 3-0 record, sweeping the championship series with the Ezekiel Academy Knights with a 4-3 win on Friday, May 2 and a 7-5 victory on Monday, May 5 at the Evangel Sports Complex.

The Lightning opened the tournament with an 8-4 win over Southern Christian in the semifinals. The Patriots scored three runs in the top of the first, but Evangel capitalized on a lead-off triple in the bottom of the inning to score off a line out and a Makayla Cranford RBI single, cutting the gap to 3-2.

Southern restored a two-run lead with an RBI single in the top of the second, but the Lightning surged back with six runs in the home half of the frame.

Lilli Whitfield started it with an RBI single before another run scored on an error. Raylee Evans drew a bases-loaded walk to take the lead, and Jaydin Johnson came home on a wild pitch. Cranford finished off the rally with a two-run double to make the lead 8-4, and Evangel held on to that lead through the final five innings.

That put Evangel in the championship series against Ezekiel, and the two rivals duked it out on defense to start the game. Neither team scored in the first four innings of the game, which built up the pressure for one of the sides to break through.

That breakthrough came off a two-out double from Ezekiel in the bottom of the fifth. The hit set up an RBI double for a 1-0 Knights lead, and an error on the ensuing pitch doubled up the lead to 2-0.

Evangel couldn’t respond at the plate in the sixth but turned a one-two-three bottom of the sixth to take some momentum into the top of the seventh.

The first two Lightning batters of the inning got out, putting the hosts on their final out of the game. Whitfield kept Evangel alive with a single before Johnson hit an RBI single to halve the deficit. An intentional walk followed to bring up Evans, who ripped a single on the first pitch she saw to tie the game at 2-2.

The Lightning then retired three-straight batters once again to send the game to the eighth inning, where ghost runners would be place on second to start the inning.

A sacrifice bunt moved the free runner to third before an Ann Shelton bunt single and an Ella Ruth Smith walk loaded up the bases. Two batters later, Whitfield drew a walk on a full count to score a run, and Shelton scored on a wild pitch to make the lead 4-2.

Ezekiel clawed a run back off a fly out in the bottom of the eighth, but that was as close as the Knights could get in a 4-3 win for Evangel.

Cranford finished 2-for-3 with a run while Whitfield, Johnson and Evans each had an RBI. Smith took the win by pitching all eight innings, striking out five batters while allowing four hits and two walks. Only one of the two runs she faced was earned.

The second game of the series was postponed until Monday, May 5, but Evangel started out the game on a much better note. After a scoreless first inning, the Lightning put four runs across in the top of the second.

An Evans double, Cranford walk and Willa Bedsole single loaded up the bases for the Lightning, and two batters later, Smith singled to score the opening run of the game.

While the next batter struck out, Whitfield drew a bases-loaded walk to double up the lead before Johnson doubled the lead again to 4-0 with a two-run single on the very next pitch.

The scoring resumed in the top of the third after Evans hit a triple to start the inning. Cranford brought her home with a sacrifice fly to take the lead to 5-0.

Ezekiel would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot on the second pitch of the inning, cutting the gap to 5-1.

While neither team scored in the fifth inning, the Knights threw their best punch in the bottom of the sixth. After starting the inning with a single and a walk, an RBI single made it a 5-2 game. Two batters after that, Ezekiel singled again to load up the bases, and a sacrifice fly cut the deficit to just two.

That was right before a double on a 1-1 pitch to center plated two more runs and tied up the game at 5-5 before the seventh and final inning.

Whitfield got herself on base to start the seventh thanks to her single, and she stole second ahead of a lengthy battle between the Knights pitcher and Johnson. After seven foul balls in eight pitches, Johnson finally got a hold of one, sending it to center to score Whitfield for the go-ahead run.

Gracelynn Shackelford then came up with a big extra-base hit, securing a triple on an 0-1 pitch. However, Johnson got out advancing to home for the first out of the inning. Evans helped Evangel bounce back with an RBI single on the very next pitch to take the lead to 7-5.

The Lightning finished off the win with three-straight outs after a lead-off single in the bottom of the seventh to take the 7-5 victory and the state title.

Evans was a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI while Johnson had three RBI in a 2-for-4 day and Shackelford finished 2-for-4 with a run.

Smith earned the win once again, going the distance in seven innings while working around five runs off eight hits and a walk.

The Lightning finished the season with a 22-11 record as well as a 7-2 mark in conference play.

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