FULTON, Mo. -- Taking a short break from the road, the William Woods University baseball team picked up a split against Central Methodist University on Tuesday night. The Owls dropped the opener by a 1-2 margin before battling back in a see-saw nightcap to take a 5-4 win.
Kyle Burns (Springfield, Mo.) took the loss for the Owls in the first game, with
Zach Secoy (East Prairie, Mo.) picking up the win with
Matt Thomas (Brashear, Mo.) nabbing his seventh save of the year.
WWU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth in game one, courtesy of a pair of two-out doubles.
Brian Carr (Phoenix, Ariz.) sent one deep to right, advancing to third on a
Jacob Harrison (Fulton, Mo.) single. Thomas sent one screaming past the first baseman and into right to score Carr, but the Owls couldn't continue the scoring, as
Derek McCawley (Phoenix, Ariz.) grounded to short to end the inning.
Central Methodist took advantage of a pair of miscues by
Kyle Switzer (Columbus, Ga.) to equalize the score, as the WWU catcher couldn't get a handle on a one-out bunt from Dustin Ray. After a stolen base and a walk put runners on first and second for CMU, Switzer tried to gun down Ray stealing third only to have his throw go behind the bag and into left field, allowing Ray to scamper home. A sacrifice fly scored Matt Gessner, who had gotten to third following the errant throw, but the Owls were able to get out of the inning without further damage.
WWU was able to put a runner on in the bottom of both the sixth and seventh innings, but they couldn't level the score.
Game two got off to a brisk start, as carr led off with a double, moving to third on a sac bunt by Harrison. A sacrifice fly from Thomas gave WWU the 1-0 lead, with a strikeout by
Ryan Sweet (Florissant, Mo.) ending the inning.
CMU answered with three runs in the top of the third to take the lead, but WWU leveled the terms in the bottom of the fourth, as a one-out triple from
Damon Adrian (Mary's Home, Mo.) scored Harrison and Sweet.
The Eagles again capitalized on miscues from the WWU defense to retake the lead in the top of the fifth, as Doyle Bohr reached second as Adrian threw the ball into the first-base dugout after fielding the grounder. A failed pick attempt allowed Bohr to move to third and he scored on an infield single from the next batter.
But WWU snatched the lead back in the bottom of the frame, with
Austin Clapp (Macon, Mo.) reaching as the Eagle right fielder saw the ball fall out of his glove. A perfect bunt single from Elmore down the third base line with a hard charging Clapp put runners on the corners for the Owls, with Carr pushing Clapp across with a single. Another bunt, this one from Harrison, scored Elmore, but WWU was unable to stretch the lead further.
Thomas moved to the pitcher's mound to start the sixth inning and mowed through the final two innings, allowing just one base runner and striking out two to pick up the save.
William Woods is back on the road, traveling to Maryville University for a single nine-inning contest tomorrow. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
