Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SHAWNEE, Okla.— The (RV) William Woods University softball team kicked off the 2014 season on the right foot, as the Owls defeated Bethany College 6-5 in game one of the Oklahoma Baptist University Tournament and ran past Bacone College in game two, winning 10-2 (six innings).
Game 1: William Woods 6 Bethany College 5
The Owls (1-0), grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but Bethany College (0-2), rattled off five runs in the top of the third and held a four run lead, heading into the bottom of the third.
William Woods offense responded in a big way, as they were brought back into the game by
Brailee Schulte, who drilled a three-run homer over the wall and cut the deficit down to 5-4.
William Woods would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth and then in the bottom of the sixth,
Beth Begemann hit a double, which scored
Hannah Campbell and gave WWU a 6-5 lead. The Owls would hold off Bethany in the top half of the seventh and earn the one run victory.
Schulte had a fantastic day at the plate, as to go along with her first collegiate home run, the freshman added a single and finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored. "Brailee hit the ball extremely hard today with three good at-bats. Her hardest hit ball in my opinion was her last plate appearance, on a 9-3 putout," said head coach
Tracy Gastineau.
Another freshman,
Begemann had an impressive debut, as the Ashland, Mo., native went 2-for-3 at the dish with two RBI, while Campbell went 1-for-3 and scored once.
MacKenzie Bowden picked up the victory for the Owls, throwing four shutout innings in relief, allowing just one hit and struck out eight batters.
"We had quality at-bats up and down the lineup," said Gastineau. "To win your first game of the season, with the go ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning, which is the best time to break a tie, was really nice."
Game 2: William Woods 10 Bacone College 2
In game two, the Owls (2-0), trailed 2-0 against Bacone College after one inning of play, but like they did against Bethany earlier in the day, the team had another breakout inning, as WWU scored four runs in the top half of the second and took a two-run lead.
The team would then go on to add two runs in the third, one in the fifth and three in the sixth and cruise to a 10-2 victory over Bacone College (0-3).
The Owls compiled 13 hits in the game, with
Shelby LeCuru,
Brittany Bexten,
Caroline Sicht and
Hillary Hentges combining for eight RBI and going 5-for-10 at the plate.
Lindsey LeCuru had a strong day batting fourth in the Owls lineup, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and
Sydnae Hatton also filled up the stat sheet, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.
On the hill, senior
Becca Schemmer picked up her first victory on the 2014 season, throwing a complete game, allowing two runs on four hits, and struck out six.
"All in all, we had a pretty good day," said Gastineau. "It is easy to say that when you win both, but I feel we battled back well in both games. Each time we fell behind, we responded right way with runs in our next at-bat," she added.
The Owls will now get set for two tough games on Saturday afternoon, as at 12 p.m. the team squares off against No. 24-ranked Friends University. Then, at 2 p.m. William Woods plays host and No. 15-ranked Oklahoma Baptist University to close out tournament play.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and scores from Shawnee, Okla.
