DECATUR, Ala.— After going 4-0 at the Oklahoma Baptist University Tournament last weekend and defeating two top 25 teams, the (RV) William Woods University softball team will look to continue its strong play at the Alabama Arctic Blast, which starts on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. against No. 9-ranked Belhaven University.
The Owls (4-0), defeated the likes of Bethany College (6-5), Bacone College (10-2), No. 24-ranked Friends University (6-1) and No. 15-ranked Oklahoma Baptist University (4-1) to kick off the 2014 season on a high note.
Offensively, the team batted .330 and outscored its opponents 26-9. The offense was led by numerous players contributing at the dish, but senior
Lindsey LeCuru filled up her state sheet, hitting an astounding .667 (8-for-12), having two doubles, two home runs, three RBI and a 1.333 slugging percentage.
Brittany Bexten (1.000),
Emily Murphy (.500),
Sydnae Hatton (.500),
Hillary Hentges (.500),
Beth Begemann (.400),
Macy Wierschem (.333) and
Hannah Campbell (.333), all batted over .300 through the four game tournament as well.
On the mound, seniors
MacKenzie Bowden and
Becca Schemmer dominated on the hill, as Bowden was nearly unhittable, going 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in 11 innings pitched, allowing just one run on six hits and struck out 22 batters, 14 of which came against host Oklahoma Baptist University.
Schemmer, meanwhile, was just as good, going 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 16.0 innings pitched, allowing just three earned runs on 13 hits, struck out 15 batters and held its opponents average to a mere .194.
"I couldn't have been more proud of what Mac and Becca did last weekend," said head coach
Tracy Gastineau. "It was their first time throwing on dirt since the fall, but they were still very effective with their pitches."
Up first for the Owls at the Alabama Arctic Blast is none other than the team that defeated William Woods 2-0 at the NAIA Opening Round last year, No. 9-ranked Belhaven University (5-1).
The Blazers lone loss on the year thus far, came against No. 3-ranked Oklahoma City 3-2, back on Feb. 15
th. As a team, Belhaven is batting .359, with eight players batting over .300 and six hitting at least .400 on the year. Josie Porter leads the offense batting a team-high .500 (12-for-24), has scored nine times, added two doubles, one home run, six RBI and a slugging percentage of .708.
Ashlee Hitt has been another threat in the lineup, batting .478 through six games, and contributed six RBI. Shelby Watson leads the Blazers with a team-high seven RBI, to go along with her .391 average.
On the mound, teams are only hitting .199 against the Belhaven hurlers, led by Adair, owning a 1-1 record, having a 2.42 ERA through 17 1/3 innings pitched, has allowed six earned runs on 13 hits and struck out 15 batters. In two appearances on the mound, Shelby Watson is 2-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA in 7 1/3 innings pitched and has three strikeouts.
Things don't get much easier for the Owls at 4 p.m., as they will play No. 7-ranked Auburn Montgomery University (2-0).
The Warhawks are looking to build off its 2013 campaign, where the team made its second-straight NAIA national tournament and closed out the year with an impressive 45-12 record and ranked eighth in the final national poll.
This season, Auburn Montgomery defeated Point University by a combined score of 14-3 in its season opening double-header. Thus far the offense is batting .357 as a team, led by Paige Nielsen (1.000) and Katie Spain (.833), combining to go 7-for-8 at the plate, with three runs scored, two doubles and four RBI.
On the mound, Cassie Daniels is off to a good start, throwing a complete game in her first outing on the season, allowing just one hit and struck out eight batters.
On Saturday, the Owls will play three games, and they will start early in the morning at 10 a.m. against another tough foe in No. 11-ranked Lindsey Wilson (4-0). The Blue Raiders have already defeated two American Midwest Conference teams, including No. 14-ranked Freed-Hardeman (12-4) and Benedictine University at Springfield (12-1).
Lindsey Wilson has outscored its opponents 46-10 through four games, and are hitting .478 on the season. The team is paced by Amanda Trampe at the plate, batting .643 (9-for-14), with five runs scored, two home runs, 13 RBI, a slugging percentage of 1.286 and an on-base percentage of .667.
On the mound, hurler Casey Bryan started two games, going 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in nine innings pitched, allowing just seven hits and striking out five batters.
At 12 p.m., the Owls will play its first unranked team of the tournament, but it will be a tough outing against a Martin Methodist University (7-1) team that has won seven out of its eight games on the year.
The RedHawks have already scored 71 runs on the season and are batting .364 at the plate, led by Samantha Wilson, hitting .542 in eight starts, and is leading the team in hits (13), doubles (5), runs batted in (12), slugging percentage (1.000) and on-base percentage (.577).
On the mound, the RedHawks use three different pitchers, led by Ana Davila earning a 2.56 ERA in two starts. Emily Robb is 3-1 on the season in six appearances and has totaled 10 strikeouts, while Caroline Ezell is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA and leads the team in strikeouts with 20.
The Owls will close out the Alabama Arctic Blast against (RV) Campbellsville University (5-1), with first-pitch beginning at 3 p.m.
The Lady Tigers won its first five games on the season, but had its winning streak snapped against Martin Methodist on Feb. 16
th, falling 7-3.
On offense, the Lady Tigers are led by Kristin Benton (.476), Sara Paragon (.471), and Shelby Ray (.467), combining to go 25-for-53, with 19 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, 22 RBI and have only struck out three times thus far on the year.
Taylor Wroe and Victoria Decker will look to continue their dominance on the mound, as the duo has a combined 3-0 record in 21 2/3 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs on 12 hits and struck out 20 batters.
"This will be a big test for us this weekend," said Gastineau. "We hope to keep the momentum going that we started the season with and continue to improve each game," she added.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score on the first two games from Alabama.
