FULTON, Mo. -- After dropping the opening game by a 0-4 count, the William Woods University softball team battled back in the nightcap, winning a defensive duel against Baker University 2-1 in 10 innings.
MacKenzie Bowden (Hartsburg, Mo.) took the loss, just her third of the season, despite striking out eight in the opener, while
Kelsey Schulte (Honey Creek, Mo.) went the distance to pick up the win in the second game.
After gifting Baker three runs in the first inning on an error, the Owls tried to battle back but couldn't get a read on Baker's Maggie Holmberg. Six WWU batters struck out in the first, second and third innings, with only
Ilissa Facchini (Tulare, Calif.) reaching base in the stretch as she was hit by a pitch. Defensively, WWU was able to mitigage the situation, however, keeping Baker off the board in the second, third and fourth innings.
WWU threatened in the bottom of the fourth, as Facchini drew a leadoff walk and Schulte hit a looping single deep to right. Holmberg struck out another pair of Owls batters before loading the bases as she plunked
Nicole Hamdorf (Grain Valley, Mo.). Unfortunately,
Kacey Scharnhorst (St. Peters, Mo.) couldn't keep the rally going as she popped out to second to end the inning.
The Wildcats added an insurance run in the top of the sixth and kept WWU off the board in the bottom of the sixth and bottom of the seventh.
The second game featured a defensive duel, as neither team was able to score through seven regulation innings and the first extra inning. WWU came close in the bottom of the first, as a leadoff walk to
Lindsey LeCuru (Jefferson City, Mo.) was followed by a two-out single from
Caroline Sicht (Columbia, Mo.) to put two runners aboard. A passed ball moved the runners into scoring position, but
Macy Wierschem (Waterloo, Ill.) struck out to end the inning.
WWU threatened again in the bottom of the fourth, but again stranded two runners to end the threat.
The Wildcats loaded the bases in the top of the sixth and were threatening to score, but an alert play by
Sam Parsons (Hallsville, Mo.) snuffed the threat. Katie Duroe hit a popup to the second base side, where Parsons camped under the ball. The freshman made the catch and turned towards second, noticing that Erin Greenwood had drifted towards third in anticipation. A quick flip to
Whitney Eufinger (St. Charles, Mo.) doubled up the Wildcats, with Parsons collecting a grounder and tagging the advancing runner for the third out of the inning.
Neither team was able to score in the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
Baker wasn't able to convert its first chance, stranding runners on the corners in the top of the eighth. William Woods would go one better, retiring in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded.
A pair of miscues allowed Baker to score in the top of the ninth, as a wild pitch from Schulte allowed Duroe to advance to third, with the Wildcat scoring as Wierschem's throw went wide of the bag and scooted into left field. The Owls were able to get out of the inning unscathed, however, and equalized on an RBI single from Parsons.
The Owls nearly closed out the top of the 10th with a double play, as Summer Kelley reached on a fielder's choice as WWU had caught Alexis Cox in a rundown. Eufinger fielded the ball, checking Cox two-thirds of the way down the basepath before firing to Wierschem who chased her back to third. During the rundown, Kelley started advancing to second, but Facchini's line of sight was obstructed by the base umpire who had moved in to make the call at third. The Owls still managed to get out of the inning, geting Kayla Morse to ground out to third after intentionally walking Greenwood.
After starting the inning on second, LeCuru scampered to third on a wild pitch from Greenwood. Facchini drew a walk to put runners on the corners with nobody out, with Schulte ending the game as she belted a 2-1 pitch to deep center, plating LeCuru.
The Owls move to 16-11 on the year, while Baker moves to 9-8 on the 2012 campaign. William Woods closes out its homestand with a return to AMC action, hosting conference newcomers Benedictine University-Springfield on Wednesday. First pitch for the doubleheader is set for 2 p.m.
