Eden Prairie junior Maya Miller wound up safe after this collision with the Wayzata first baseman in a 12-4 win May 6 at Miller Park. Photo by Laura Neuman
Eden Prairie High School junior Carli Archuleta went 3-for-3 at the plate and gave up just two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings on the mound en route to a 4-3 win over conference and section opponent Minnetonka in girls’ softball on Tuesday at Miller Park.
The lead went back and forth, with Minnetonka scoring in the first inning and the Eagles tying the game in the second. The Skippers then took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly, with the Eagles tying the game again at 2 in the bottom of the inning.
Tonka took the lead again in the fifth inning, but the Eagles scored twice in the bottom half of the inning. A single by junior Rose Weber, combined with a base hit by Archuleta, propelled the Eagles to a 4-3 lead, which they maintained until the end.
Junior pitcher Lily Liu got the win in relief, allowing no runs and just one hit over the final three innings.
The bottom of Eden Prairie’s lineup performed well, with senior Ayana Lombardy, junior Natalie Black, and Archuleta combining for six hits, one run, and three RBIs.The Eagles had 11 hits in the game. Lombardy, batting ninth, led the Eagles with two RBIs. The center fielder went 2-for-3 on the day. Senior Rose Neuman and Weber each collected multiple hits for Eden Prairie.
The Eagles are now 9-5 for the season and 7-3 in the Lake Conference.