FULTON, Mo.- After taking four games from Harris-Stowe State, the William Woods baseball team will now travel on the road to Missouri Baptist, who right now is one game ahead of them in the American Midwest Conference.
The Owls recently defeated Harris-Stowe on Tuesday winning game one 9-1 and game two 11-0 (7 innings). The offense out-hit the Hornets 25-10 and was led by
Matt Thomas in game two, hitting three consecutive home runs.
John Cavness and
Jeremy Ahillen shut down the Hornets all afternoon, combining for 24.0 innings pitched, one run allowed, 10 hits and five total strikeouts. With the sweep of the Hornets, the Owls have now won five out of their last six games, bumping their record up to 9-7 overall (5-1 AMC).
Greg Hamrock continues to lead the Owls on offense, hitting .488 on the season through 15 games played, going 21-for-43, scoring 10 runs, hitting six doubles, and leads the team in total bases with 27. He now leads the conference with his .488 average, .14 points higher than second place Drew Morecraft from Hannibal-LaGrange. The senior through six conference games played, is hitting an astounding .579, being retired just eight times (11-for-19).
Stephen Kohler and
Derek Fletcher also rank in the top 20 in hitting, with Kohler batting .368 through 16 games played and catcher Fletcher is hitting .341, tying for the team lead in RBI with 14. In conference play, Kohler is hitting .538, and Fletcher is hitting .375, with six RBI.
All four of the Owls starters thus far have an ERA under 1.50 in the AMC; Ahillen leads the way with a perfect 0.00 earned run average, after his shut-out in his previous outing.
Dane Smith and
Adam Brush are both holding a 0.64 ERA totaling 14.0 innings pitched a piece, and
John Cavness has a 1.29 ERA.
Brush holds the top ERA overall with a 1.47 through 30 2/3 innings pitched, having a K/BB ratio of 25/10, 4-1 record and holding his opponents' batting average to .196. Smith (1.74), Ahillen (2.53), and Cavness (7.11) all were able to lower their ERA after their wins this weekend.
The Spartans (11-5 overall; 5-0 AMC) are on a six game win streak of their own, and have won nine out of their last 10 games. The team just finished a four game sweep as well over Park University, outscoring the Pirates 26-7.
Shortstop Patrick Johnson leads the offense with a .373 average (22-for-59), in runs scored (16), third in doubles (5) and total bases (31). The team holds an overall batting average of .290, helped out by Ryan Gunhouse average of .365, Garret Vail at .350 and Pier Oliver-Dostaler hitting .309.
The Spartan staff has a 3.20 ERA overall, with Julien Soucy leading the hurlers with a 2-0 record in 19.0 innings pitched, and holding his opponents' batting average at .203. Ethan Gibbons is off to a perfect 3-0 record as well, throwing two complete games in 28.0 innings pitched, which leads the team. Gibbons has a K/BB ratio of 26/6 and has allowed just 12 runs to cross the plate.
This will be a battle between two of the top three teams so far in the conference this season, as both will look for an edge to spread distance apart from each other. First-pitch on Friday will start at 12:00 p.m., with game two to follow shortly thereafter.
