FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University baseball team will face a stiff opponent this weekend, as they host No. 25 Freed-Hardeman University for an American Midwest Conference three-game series at Owls Field. The series will kick-off on Friday night with a 6 p.m. start time, and conclude on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
William Woods (13-3, 2-1 AMC) has won three of its previous five games coming into the weekend, which includes a 5-4 home-opening victory over Culver-Stockton College on Tuesday afternoon. This will be the second three-game AMC set for the Owls this season, as they were able to take two of three from Hannibal-LaGrange last week to open conference play.
Freed-Hardeman (12-5, 2-1 AMC) picked up a pair of wins against Blue Mountain College on Tuesday, as the Lions swept the two-game home series. In fact, FHU is coming off an eight-game home stand that saw them go 6-2. Like the Owls, Freed-Hardeman opened up AMC play last week, and took two of three from defending AMC Tournament champion Benedictine University at Springfield.
Matt Thomas, the AMC's reigning player of the week, went 1-for-4 with an RBI on Tuesday in the 5-4 win over Culver-Stockton. Over his last five games, the senior has posted a .454 average with two home runs and 12 RBI's. On the year, Thomas is hitting .365 and has posted a .577 slugging percentage.
Thomas is also one of four Owls to post double-digit RBIs this season. Zach Nichols leads the team in that category with 19 RBIs, while Nick Spagnola and Cody Stewart have drove in 13 and 10 respectively. Nichols has driven in a run in five of his last six games, and brings a six-game hitting streak into the weekend.
As a team, William Woods holds a team batting average of .304, which is the 35h best in the NAIA. They are also 16th in the nation in runs per game, as they are plating a seven run per contest.
Dane Smith has been the ace of an Owls pitching staff that is posting the 35th-best ERA in the nation at 3.10. The Halls, Tenn., native is currently 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA. The four wins are the 13th most in the NAIA, while the 0.67 ERA is the 20th-lowest ERA in the country.
Smith has tossed back-to-back complete game one hitters in his last two starts, with the most recent coming against Hannibal-LaGrange last Thursday. The righty threw seven scoreless innings and struck out six to help his team pick up the 9-0 victory. Smith has allowed just two runs in his 27 innings this season.
Freed-Hardeman has won four of its previous five games coming into this weekend's play. The team's trip to WWU will be only the second time this season the Lion have played on the road. They are 1-1 in those contest, as they split a pair of games against Cumberland University.
Cole Veazey is the team's top hitter, as he holds a .371 batting average in 62 plate appearances. The junior has collected a team-best 23 hits through 17 games, and has hit a team-best seven doubles.
The Lions have collected 36 extra-base hits, which includes 28 doubles. FHU has hit a combined six home runs on the year, with Robert Prieto leading the way with three. As a team, Freed-Hardeman is hitting .278 and has drove in 85 runs.
Dan Creighton leads a pitching staff that poises a team ERA of 3.68. Creighton holds a 2-1 record with a 1.67 ERA. The southpaw has tossed a team-high three complete games, which has led to him leading the team in innings pitched with 27. Greg Young leads the team in wins with five, which is the fifth-most in the NAIA, however, he holds an ERA of 5.56 in his six appearances this season.
This weekend will be the first ever meeting between these two teams, as Freed-Hardeman is in its first season in the AMC.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of every game this weekend.
