FULTON, Mo.- The William Woods softball team will look to continue to ride their momentum against Vanguard University on Wednesday, after the team played very well against #1 Cal State San Marcos, falling in game one 2-0, however, winning game two easily 7-2.
The offense found a rhythm in game two against the Cougars, as the team put seven runs on the board in the top of the sixth, on five hits.
Kacey Scharnhorst moved her average to .450 on the season, tying for the team lead in hits (9), homeruns (1) and in runs batted in (6).
Kristy Pluchinski is also continuing to hit the ball well, as the senior is batting .348 and is tied for the team lead in total bases with 13.
Five other Owls are batting over .300 this season, putting the team season average at .294 through eight games. On the mound, the Owls are led by
MacKenzie Bowden, as even though she only has one win on the season, the junior has thrown four complete games and has a strong K/BB ratio of 30/9.
Becca Schemmer came up big against #1 Cal State San Marcos yesterday, getting her second win on the season. The Huntsville, Mo., native lowered her ERA to 4.28 through 18.0 innings pitched and her K/BB ratio is also strong at 12/3.
Vanguard, like William Woods was also receiving votes in the NAIA pre-season poll, and the Lions are off to a 14-11 record in the 2013 season, winning six out of their last seven games. The Lions have a team batting average of .295 on the year and have totaled 107 runs through 25 games.
Brittney Boggs so far is the leader offensively, hitting .436 (34-for-78), with 12 runs scored, 10 doubles, four home runs and 24 RBI. Other names to keep an eye on in the Vanguard lineup are Taylor Hallahan and Breanne Gomez, both of which are hitting over .320, have a combined hit total of 42 and 15 runs batted in. The Lions have out-scored their opponents 107-46 so far, as they like to score early, putting 27 runs on the board in the first inning, while holding their opponents to 12.
What seems to win games for Vanguard is their pitching, as all six of the hurlers on the Lions have an ERA under 3.50. Starter Taylor Doyle holds an astounding 0.43 ERA through nine games played, having a 5-1 record, recording three shut-outs and striking out 36 batters. Second on the team is Shelby Ross with a 1.17 ERA to go along with a 2-3 record and Brittany Colenzo is another force on the mound going 4-1 through seven games played, having a 1.35 ERA.
This again should be a great test for the Owls, as the team has shown they can play with the best in the NAIA. First-pitch is set to be thrown at 2:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. Central) on Wednesday.
