FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University baseball team host a critical three-game American Midwest Conference series this weekend, as Lyon College travels to Owls Field to take on WWU. The series opens on Friday with a doubleheader starting and 1 p.m., and concludes on Saturday with a 12 p.m. start time.
William Woods (19-6, 7-4 AMC) has won five of its last six games, and took two of three against Harris-Stowe State University in conference play last weekend. The Owls defeated future AMC opponent Lindenwood University-Belleville on Wednesday, 7-1. For Lyon College (17-14, 7-4 AMC), they come into this three-game set off the heels of a conference series loss to No. 4 Missouri Baptist. The Scots dropped the first two games, but were able to recover and hand the co-conference leader a loss in game three with a 4-3 victory. Â
Both teams come into this weekend's series in a four-way tie for third place in the AMC. Last year's tournament champion Benedictine University at Springfield and conference newcomer Mid-Continent are also tied with both squads, as all four are two games back of co-leaders Missouri Baptist and Freed-Harderman.
Austin Clapp brings a nine-game hitting streak into the weekend. The Macon, Mo., native has collected 16 hits in 36 at-bats (.445) over his last nine games, raising his batting average from .315 to .378. Clapp collected a pair of hits in Wednesday's win over Lindenwood-Belleville to giving the junior back-to-back two-hit performances.
The infielder hasn't been the only hot Owl of late, as Nick Spagnola hit .545 last week to earn him AMC Player of the Week honors. The right fielder collected three hits in each game of the three-game series against Harris-Stowe. The Algonquin, Ill., native slugged his first home run and drove in seven runs in the three-game set. Like Clapp, Spagnola brings a nine-game hitting streak into this weekend's action, as he is hitting .459 during the streak. Â
The duo's recent outburst has helped William Woods post the second-highest batting average in the AMC at .318. The Owls have collected 248 hits, which is the fourth-best in the conference. Cody Stewart is second in the league in batting average with his .434 clip, which leads the team.
WWU has also drove in the third-most runs this season with 165 RBI. Matt Thomas and Zach Nichols are third and fourth in the AMC in RBI with 26 and 25 respectively.
On the mound, William Woods holds the second-best ERA in the conference at 3.96. They are just one of two teams in the league to post a staff ERA under four. The pitching staff has also accumulated the second-most strikeouts in the AMC with 155.
Staff ace Dane Smith will look to recover from a pair of rough outings. After allowing just two runs over his first 27 innings, the Halls, Tenn., native has giving up 12 runs over his last two starts. Overall on the year, Smith still holds a respectable ERA of 3.47 and is tied for the team lead in wins, with John Cavness with four. He is tied for second in the AMC in strikeouts with 33.
The Owls have relied heavily on its bullpen this season, as the duo of James Ball and Dylan Hastings have only allowed nine earned runs in 51 innings pitched. Ball leads the team in ERA (1.42) and innings pitched (38) and is holding teams to a .211 batting average. The righty has seven save this season, and his 1.42 ERA leads the AMC. Hastings in second on the team with his 2.08 ERA, and has complied 17 strikeouts in his 13 innings of work for an 11.8 strikeouts per nine ratio.
For Lyon College, they are led by Griffin Glaude's .374 batting average. The Beebe, Ark., native is tied for the team-lead in hits with Joe Campbell at 37 apiece. He is also second on the team's RBI list with 18, one behind team leader Colt Harmon.
As a team, the Scots hold the third-best batting average in the AMC at .298, and have collected the third-most doubles of any team with 50 on the year.
On the rubber, Lyon holds a staff ERA of 4.15, which is also third-best in the league, and are led by ace Brenden Camp. The senior holds a sub-.500 record at 3-4, but he has posted a 2.88 ERA in his eight starts this season. The righty has tossed four complete games, though he has only struck out 10 batters in his 50 innings of work.
Lyon holds the all-time series lead by a game at 7-6.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this weekend's events.
