FULTON, Mo.- Due to snow still being on the ground, the William Woods baseball team will head to Topeka, Kan., to take on Hannibal-LaGrange for a four game series this weekend, in hopes of halting their three game losing streak.
The Owls (4-6 overall) are coming off two tough losses in Oklahoma, falling to Midland University in game one 6-3 and in game two losing 18-9 to the #10 pre-season ranked Oklahoma Baptist Bison's. The offense has fired on all cylinders for most of their games this season, as the team holds a .306 batting average, while totaling 50 runs batted in.
What has hurt them in a few games besides their pitching, is their play in the infield. The Owls have committed 22 errors in 10 games, five of which came against Midland. The teams' pitching has had their ups-and-downs so far this season, however, the staff still holds their opponents to a .259 average, but their ERA has jumped up to 5.29 after giving up 18 runs to the Bison's their last timeout.
The offense has seven hitters batting over .300, five of which are batting over .400.
Justin Elmore is leading the team with a .462 average, with three runs scored and two RBI. Reigning Player of the Week, Greg Hamrock bumped his average up to .417 and leads the team in doubles (5) and in total bases (15).
Jordan Thompson and
Eilert Meyers are also off to a strong start, as Thompson holds a .393 average and leads the team in hits (11), while Meyers has a .345 average and is second on the team in RBI (7).
Adam Brush leads all starters with a 2.16 earned run average, earning a 2-1 record and leads the team in strikeouts with 12 and is able to hold opponents' batting average to .167. Reliever
Matt Thomas has also been a bright spot on the hill, having a 2.16 ERA through four games and is third on the team in strikeouts with 10 and has compiled two saves.
Hannibal-LaGrange started off the 2013 season on a high note, winning three of their first four games, however, the team has now lost four in a row at the hands of Clarke and Olivet Nazarene University. In that four game span, the Trojans have been out-scored 35-22.
Against Olivet Nazarene, game one was filled with a ton of offense. ONU took a 11-0 lead on the Trojans in the top of the second inning, however, HLG added four runs in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the advantage down to seven runs.
After ONU added one more run in the third to take a 12-4 lead, Hannibal-LaGrange answered with a big inning of their own in the bottom of the fourth. The team scored seven runs in the fourth, and after trailing by 11 just in the second inning, were now down only one run. The Trojans were able to tie the game up at 12-12 in the fifth, but their pitching staff couldn't hold down the Olivet Nazarene offense as they added four more runs in the sixth and were able to hold on for the 16-15 win over HLG.
Thad McVeigh led the Trojans going 2-for-4 with four runs batted in and one run scored. Drew Morecraft also had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. ONU went on to win game two, 9-2.
This will be the first conference game for both teams and they will square off on Friday at 4:00 p.m., with game two scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's double-header will start at 1:00 p.m. and first pitch of game two should be thrown at 3:00 p.m.
