FULTON, Mo.—After having its home opener cancelled this weekend due to weather conditions, the (RV) William Woods University softball travels south for the third time this season, as they will play on a neutral field in Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
The Owls (5-4) were scheduled to play No. 10-ranked Olivet Nazarene on Saturday and Clarke College on Sunday, but due to the freezing temperatures and snow in the forecast, the games were cancelled.
Now the team is heading to Oklahoma for the second time this year, as they previously were in the Oklahoma Baptist University Tournament in Shawnee, Okla., to open the season.
WWU is coming off a tough road trip in Decatur, Ala., at the Alabama Arctic Blast, where the team went 1-4 against its toughest competition to date, facing three top 15 teams (Belhaven, Auburn Montgomery, Lindsey Wilson), Campbellsville University who is receiving votes and Martin Methodist, a team that only had one loss on the season entering the tournament.
On the season, the Owls are batting .246, led by senior
Lindsey LeCuru, hitting an astounding .448 (13-for-29), while also leading the team in runs (10), doubles (4), home runs (3), total bases (26) and slugging percentage (.897).
Freshman
Beth Begemann is off to an impressive start to her collegiate career, batting .259 through nine games played, is second on the team in home runs (two) and leads the Owls in runs batted in with six.
On the hill, seniors
MacKenzie Bowden and
Becca Schemmer are off to strong starts to the 2014 season, as Bowden holds a 1.14 ERA, while Schemmer has been just as good, with a 2.14 ERA in six appearances.
On Friday, the Owls will play No. 23-ranked Central Methodist University and Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., starting at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. respectively.
The Eagles (1-1), split their season opening series on Feb. 24
th against Bethany College, winning game one 11-9, but falling in the finale 15-10. The team is looking to build off an impressive 2013 campaign, where they finished 35-12 (17-1 Heart of America Athletic Conference), won the HAAC Championship and earned a spot at the NAIA Opening Round.
This will be the second meeting on the year between the Owls and Bacone College (2-10), as back on Feb. 14
th, WWU cruised past the Lady Warriors winning 10-2 (6 innings), behind the complete game outing of Schemmer and the offense scattering 13 hits in the game.
Since then, Bacone has gone 2-6, and they are led by Tarah Moutray on offense, hitting a team-high .533 (16-for-20), with 11 runs scored, three doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI and a slugging percentage of 1.133.
On Saturday in Tahlequah, Okla., the team will meet Bethany College for the second time this year at 12 p.m. and then play Northeastern State University at 2 p.m.
After trailing 5-1 heading into the bottom of the third, the Owls came back and defeated Bethany College (4-6) 6-5 in its season opener.
Brailee Schulte was one of the main reasons for the victory, going 2-for-3 with one run scored and hitting a three run homer, her first of her collegiate career, in the third inning.
The Swedes are batting .368 on the year, led by Ashley Montoya, batting .543 (19-for-35), scoring nine runs and adding six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 18 RBI. Kelli Traffas will also be a player to keep an eye out for, as he is batting .441 and is second on the team in hits (15) and RBI (12).
To close out the weekend, the Owls will play Northeastern State University (6-6), at 2 p.m. The RiverHawks are riding a four-game winning streak and are outscoring its opponents 24-2 in the process.
Allyson Pogue (.452 avg) and Madison Reed (.425 avg) are both batting over .400 on the year, combining for 38 hits, 18 runs, five doubles and 13 RBI. The RBI production, however, comes from the duo of Madison Boyd (.371 avg) and Alyssa Aguilar (.368 avg), who have contributed 35 of the teams 56 RBI.
On the mound, they are led by Kayce Wooldridge having a 2.84 ERA in seven appearances, earning a 2-2 record, with three complete games and a K/BB ratio of 25/6.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score from Oklahoma.
