ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University softball team will play one final non-conference doubleheader on Monday evening, as the Owls pay a visit to St. Louis College of Pharmacy, who will enter the American Midwest Conference next season. First-pitch will be thrown at 4 p.m. and game two will follow shortly after at 6 p.m.
The Owls (17-14; 5-1 AMC), have run into a rough patch on the season, as after winning five straight games, the team has dropped six of its last seven against two top 10 teams (Spring Hill, William Carey) and University of Mobile who is receiving votes in the NAIA poll.
During the five game winning streak, the team outscored its opponents 47-2, the offense was batting .438 and outhit Benedictine-Springfield, Stephens and Columbia College 60-13. There were 14 batters batting over .300, including eight hitting at or above .500 in those five games.
The pitching staff was just as good, as
Julie Scheer,
Becca Schemmer and
MacKenzie Bowden held a perfect 0.00 ERA and combined to strike out 43 batters in 29 innings pitched.
Since then, the offense has been limited to a .143 batting average, while the pitching staff has done well still, holding opponents to a .235 average in 46 2/3 innings and struck out 32 batters.
All of their losses, however, have been by four runs or less, including four games where they fell by just one run. Their last victory came back on Mar. 25
th against University of Mobile, where the Owls won 6-3, led by freshman
Hannah Campbell and
Macy Wierschem combining for four RBI.
On the season, the offense is batting .265, led by senior
Lindsey LeCuru batting .330 (31-for-94) in 30 games played, scoring 18 runs, hitting a team-high four home runs and adding 18 RBI. Junior
Kacey Scharnhorst holds a .301 average and leads the team with 20 RBI, while
Macy Wierschem is hitting just under .300 (.294 avg) and brought home 10 RBI.
On the hill, senior Bowden continues her stellar year, having a 1.30 ERA to go along with her 10-7 record. The Hartsburg, Mo., native has thrown in 102 1/3 innings pitched and totaled 163 strikeouts, which is now second-best in the NAIA, while Scheer (1.45) and Schemmer (2.54) have an ERA under 2.60 and have combined for 58 strikeouts.
After dropping its first six games on the season against next year's AMC opponents, the Eutectics (2-6) picked up its first two wins on the season against Harris-Stowe State, as they outscored the Hornets 21-8 in the doubleheader.
On the season, the offense is batting .240 and they are led by Kara Terry hitting .385 (5-for-13), with five runs scored and three RBI. Taylor Craig is also hitting over .300 on the season (.316 avg) and is second on the team with four RBI, while Bailey Johnson and Kelsey Toler have combined for 10 RBI and four runs scored on the year.
Katelyn Huhn leads the pitching staff with a 4.50 ERA in nine 1/3 innings pitched and struck out eight batters. Kayla Grace, meanwhile, has a 1-3 record, but leads the team in innings pitched (16 2/3) and strikeouts (19).
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from St. Louis, Mo.
