FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University baseball team closes out the AMC portion of its schedule this weekend, hosting Williams Baptist in a four-game set. Friday's doubleheader will get underway at 1:30 p.m., with Saturday's doubleheader scheduled for a noon start. The Owls will also recognize the team's seniors in a ceremony between games on Sunday.
Quick Look - William Woods
The Owls come into this weekend's action with a 27-17 record and sit at the .500 mark in league play with a 10-10 record.
WWU currently has six players at or above a .300 batting average on the season.
Brian Carr has been on a tear recently moving up to sixth nationally as he leads the Owls with a .455 average, picking up 50 hits in 110 at bats, including a team-high 17 doubles and one home run on the year for a slugging percentage of .636. His doubles are also 15th-most in the country. He's also been solid on the basepaths, getting caught stealing just twice in eight attempts.
Jacob Harrison currently is second on the team with an average of .359, edging out Bobby Butvin's .339 average, and has collected 12 sacrifice hits on the year in addition to his 51 hits, both team highs. Butvin has drawn a team-high 23 walks on the year in 38 games.
Matt Thomas leads the Owls with 28 RBI on the year, also holding down the fourth-best batting average with a .326 on the campaign.
As a staff, William Woods has posted an ERA of 3.77 on the year, good for 34th in the nation and holds its opponents to just a .257 batting average - 37th-best in the NAIA.
Robbie McMorris has been the workhorse of the staff on the season, compiling a 5-3 record in 54.2 innings of work.
Adam Brush is also solid on the mound for the Owls, leading the team with a 7-1 record in 52.1 innings pitched. The Ashland, Mo., native leads the team with 63 strikeouts on the year and has allowed just 40 hits in ten appearances, good for 35th in the country. His win total is 31st in the NAIA, and he ranks 22nd in strikeouts per nine innings, with 10.83. Thomas has been solid in relief for WWU, picking up seven saves - 15th in the country - on the year as well as a 3-1 record. He's struck out 17 in 20.1 innings of work on the year, with 14 total apperances. He has allowed just four walks against 79 batters faced.
The Owls have also been prolific on the basepaths, swiping 63 bases in 79 attempts on the year, allowing just 37 steals against in 52 tries.
Quick Look - Williams Baptist
Williams Baptist comes into this weekend's series with a 15-28 record and has struggled to a 4-16 record in AMC play. The Eagles are led by the bat of Ivan Tate, how has posted a .450 batting average on the year. Despite their record, WBC also has a threat in the bat of Tyler Williams, whose eight home runs are ranked 46th in the country.
As a staff, WBC has posted an ERA of 7.05 on the year. Shawn Selph has been the workhorse of the pitching staff for the Eagles, collecting a 6-2 record in 14 appearances - eight starts - on the season, with 50.0 innings pitched.
Setting The Playoff Table
The Owls currently sit in fifth place in the AMC standings, but with a busy weekend on tap along with a make-up game between Harris-Stowe and Benedictine University-Springfield, predictions are tough. WWU can finish as high as second and as low as sixth, although a sixth-place finish is unlikely.
Score Early, Score Often
The Owls have definitely shown a preference for scoring early in its games on the year, scoring 44 runs in the second inning alone, of 233 total runs on the year. WWU has allowed just 185 runs on the year and has shown the ability to clamp down in the late innings as well. WWU has given up just 15 runs in the seventh inning, scoring 25 of its own on the year. Additionally, the Owls have not allowed a single run in the ninth inning and have seen just two runs scored in the eighth through eight nine-inning games.
Milestone Watch
In his seventh season at the helm, William Woods University head coach
Darren Munns crested the 200 wins plateau in fine style as the Owls ran out 10-1 winners in a seven-inning game against Northwestern College. Having compiled a 216-143 career record with the Owls, he is far and away the winningest coach in the program's young history.
Live Stats Available
Barring technical issues, live stats are available at wwuowls.com for all major smartphone platforms as well as traditional web browsers. Links are available at game time for all events with coverage, with baseball stats available at wwuowls.com/BB_LiveStats.
