SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The William Woods University baseball team picked up a split with American Midwest Conference newcomers Benedictine University-Springfield, winning the opener 2-1 with a solo shot from
Chris Fletcher (Moberly, Mo.) in the top of the 7th inning before dropping the second game by the same score.
The Bulldogs opened up the first game with a run in the bottom of the first inning, but William Woods answered in the top of the third.
Blake Wilson (Cairo, Mo.) led off the inning with a walk, moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from
Derek Fletcher (Moberly, Mo.). Wilson swiped third before scoring on a wild pitch.
The Owls threatened again in the fourth and the fifth, but stranded runners in both innings. After a scoreless sixth,
Chris Fletcher sent a 3-1 pitch out of the ballpark to lead off the seventh. WWU put two runners aboard and despite stranding them,
Matt Thomas (Brashear, Mo.) came on in the bottom of the seventh and closed out the game to pick up his sixth save on the year.
Kyle Burns (Springfield, Mo.) picked up the win in relief to move to 3-0.
WWU would score a run in the top of the first in the nightcap, as
Damon Adrian (Mary's Home, Mo.) scored on a single from Robert Butvin (Mantua, Ohio). The Owls threatened in the top of the second as well, but stranded runners on the corners.
Benedictine-Springfield would answer with two runs in the bottom of the second and closed out the game, allowing just two WWU hits over the next five innings.
Brian Carr (Phoenix, Ariz.) took the loss for the Owls, falling to 2-4 on the year.
The teams will square off again tomorrow to close out the series. WWU looks to improve on its 23-12 (8-6 AMC) record.
