FULTON, Mo. -- After dropping a frustrating 3-5 loss in the opener to Hannibal-LaGrange, the William Woods University baseball team salvaged a split on the afternoon with a 5-1 win over the Trojans.
Brian Carr (Phoenix, Ariz.) picked up his second win of the season in a complete-game outing for the Owls following up a 2-for-3 performance with 1 RBI in the opener.
The Owls opened the scoring in the bottom of the third in the opening game, with
Jacob Harrison (Fulton, Mo.) leading off with a single, advancing to third on a single from Robert Butvin (Mantua, Ohio). A sacrifice fly from
Derek McCawley (Phoenix, Ariz.) allowed Harrison to score, but the Owls couldn't push another run across, stranding Butvin at third.
Hannibal-LaGrange would immediately answer, as Thad McVeigh hit a two-out, two RBI single up the middle.
William Woods would retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as Harrison again led off the inning with a single, this time a perfectly-executed bunt. A deep fly to center from Butvin allowed Harrison to move to second, with Carr hitting his second double of the game to score Harrison.
Derek Fletcher (Moberly, Mo.) hit a perfect bloop single into shallow right, landing just inside fair territory to score Carr from second.
Unfortunately, Owls wouldn't be able to hang on to the lead, as Hannibal-LaGrange scored three in the top of the seventh. Derrick Shawn led off the inning with a single, eventually scoring on a single from Travis Mundahl before Ian Sikes hit a two-run shot to left center with two outs to put the Trojans in front 5-3.
The game would end that way, as the Owls retired in order in the bottom of the seventh.
The Trojans scored in the top of the first inning in the nightcap, but the Owls were able to respond quickly with two runs in the bottom of the second.
William Woods added three in the bottom of the third, as Butvin drew a leadoff walk to open the inning. McCawley belted a double to the fence in left center, with both scoring on a single from Fletcher after a
Matt Thomas (Brashear, Mo.) strikeout. Coming in as a courtesy runner for Fletcher,
Damon Adrian (Mary's Home, Mo.) stole second before scoring on a
Blake Wilson (Cairo, Mo.) single to chase HLG starter Zach Bedsworth from the game.
Carr would be effective down the stretch, allowing just one hit and one walk over the final four innings to pick up the win.
The Owls move to 15-7 on the year and open AMC play 1-1. Hannibal LaGrange falls to 6-13 (2-4 AMC) on the year with the loss.
