MOBILE, Ala.—The (RV) William Woods University softball team travels down to Alabama for the second time this season for a four game series and first-up for the Owls on Sunday afternoon is a tough test against No. 3-ranked Spring Hill College. First-pitch will be at 1 p.m.
The Owls (16-9; 5-1 AMC), are coming off doubleheader action at Columbia College, where the team won game one 4-0, behind the pitching performance of senior
MacKenzie Bowden striking out 12 Cougars, but Columbia snapped the Owls five game-winning streak in game two, winning 3-2.
Despite dropping its first American Midwest Conference game, WWU still has won five out of its last six games and nine of 11.
During the past 11 games, the offense is batting .316, totaling 91 hits and outscoring its opponents 71-14 over the span.
Shelby LeCuru holds the top batting average the past couple of weeks, hitting .393 (11-for-28) with 11 runs scored and seven RBI.
Freshman
Hannah Campbell has been impressive at the leadoff spot the last 11 games, hitting .379 (11-for-29), with 10 runs scored and is third on the team in RBI, bringing home eight.
Kacey Scharnhorst, meanwhile, who leads the team on the season with 20 RBI, has accumulated 12 in 11 games, while batting .355.
Senior
Lindsey LeCuru also continues to swing the bat well, as she is second on the team in hits (10), hitting one home run, totaling 11 RBI and has a slugging percentage of .633, to go along with her .333 batting average.
On the mound,
Julie Scheer, Bowden and
Becca Schemmer have been nearly unhittable the past two weeks and all season, as opposing hitters are batting just .165 against the trio the last 11 games and .203 on the season.
All three pitchers hold an ERA under 3.00 on the season, with Bowden having the top earned run average at 1.39 and has nine wins on the year, which is the best in the AMC. In 81 1/3 innings pitched, Bowden has allowed just 16 earned runs, and still ranks third in the NAIA with 142 strikeouts, but is well ahead in the AMC in strikeouts.
No. 3-ranked Spring Hill (18-5; 5-1 Southern States Athletic Conference) was on a 10 game winning streak, but have now lost two of its last three, falling to LSU Alexandria 1-0 and Faulkner 2-0.
Before falling to Faulkner in game two, the Badgers won game one 4-0, behind the no-hitter thrown by Caroline Sagrrera, who struck out 11 batters.
The offense is batting .288 through 23 games and are outscoring opponents 103-31, led by Lea Kittrell having a .408 average (29-for-71), with 12 runs scored and a team-high 15 RBI. Shea Blanchard is second on the team, having a .347 average and leads the team with 15 runs scored and two home runs, while Sam Leach will be another player to keep an eye on at the plate, totaling 14 RBI and hitting .328 in 64 at-bats.
Game one could be a pitching duel between the top pitchers in the NAIA, as Bowden who has 142 strikeouts on the season, trails Sagrera by 14, who leads the NAIA with 166. On the season, in 108 innings pitched, Sagrera is 14-2, has allowed just eight earned runs and hitters are batting just .122 against the hurler.
Sarah Bolotte has appeared in 42 2/3 innings on the mound, having a 4-3 record and totaled 20 strikeouts to go along with her 2.79 ERA.
This will be the seventh team the Owls will play that is ranked in the top 25 this season and Spring Hill will be the highest ranked team WWU has played since No. 6-ranked Auburn University Montgomery.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from Mobile, Ala.
