ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– To celebrate Head Coach Terri Adams' birthday, Eastern University Softball honored the squad's six graduating seniors and won a pair of games against Hod College to level their season record at 11-11 in the squad's first run through the MAC Commonwealth. Lexi Evelyn scattered five hits and did not give up an earned run in an 8-1 game one win, and Veronica Perez earned the win in relief and hit her first career home run to pace the Eagles to a 4-2 win in the nightcap. 

The Eagles recognized three members of the class of 2020 before turning attention to the current class. In a ceremony with flowers and fat heads, the Eastern team recognized Caysie Ambrico, Maggie Fleming, Lexi Evelyn, Deanna Young, Grace Gonzalez, and Emily Loomis. The group had one season shortened by COVID and played another season, the 2018 season, nearly completely on the road while their field was being rebuilt. With perfect weather, the field was in beautiful shape for the final home game of the regular season. 

The Eagles are currently tied with Messiah in the fourth spot in the league standings, but the Falcons still have a pair of games at Lebanon Valley left on the schedule. The result of those games will impact final seeding. 

After all the emotion of the pregame, Evelyn had to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. Sami Britton stepped on third for the final out of the inning and started the bottom half of the inning with a double to center field. Britton had four hits in the opener. She moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, but the Eagles could not get her home. The story would be different when the Eagles came up in the second. The first three hitters, including Evelyn with a bunt single, all reached with hits. Elena Iannuzzelli sliced a single to drive in one and Britton ripped a ball just over the second base bag to drive in two more. Susana Perez delivered a two-out single to drive in the final run.

Hood broke through with a single unearned run on a bases-loaded walk in the fourth, but Evelyn was able to limit the damage with a an infield fly rule pop-up and a soft fly ball to center field to end the rally. The Eagles then posted three more in the bottom of the fourth. Grace Gonzalez drove in two with a single to right-center and Kailah Altemose drove in one more with a single through the right side. 

The Eagles had a chance to end the game early in the sixth, but they only scored once and left the bases loaded. Jena Imperiale had a pinch-hit single to drive in a run. 

Evelyn struck out five and only walked three to pick up her sixth win of the year. 

Britton scored the first two runs of the second game. The junior reached on an error and scored on a ground ball from Susana Perez in the first. She tripled and scored on a Loomis' sacrifice fly in the third.

Lauren Lofland started game two. The first-year right-hander cruised through the first three innings and after getting the first out in the fourth got the next hitter to hit a pop-up on the infield. The ball dropped and the Blazers put the next two runners on to load the bases. Adams elected to bring Victoria Perez into the game to try to work out of the jam. She did so in the best possible way. She got a ground ball back to the mound, threw it to her sister behind the plate and watched as Susana threw a strike to the inside of the first base bag to complete the 1-2-3 double play. 

With the small crowd still buzzing from the play, Victoria Perez yanked a ball over the left-field fence to increase the lead to 3-1. Iannuzelli picked up another RBI on a single directly over the second base bag for a 4-1 lead. 

Unlike the opener, game two had late drama. After perez retired the first two hitters in the seventh, an error gave the guests new life. Back-to-back singles put the tying run on first. Perez quickly got ahead with an 0-2 count, but Hood shortstop Cailyn Barthlow fouled off six pitches, including a deep fly that went well beyond the left field fence and rolled down the main drive of campus. Perez finally picked up her first win of the year with a strikeout. 

The Eagles are slated to play at DeSales tomorrow weather permitting.