COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The William Woods University baseball team opens up American Midwest Conference play this week as they take on Hannibal-LaGrange University for a three-game series starting on Thursday afternoon. First pitch from Columbia, Mo., is set for 12 p.m.
William Woods (10-1, 0-0 AMC) was original slated to travel to Hannibal-LaGrange (4-9-1, 0-0 AMC), however due to poor field conditions at HLGU, the game has been moved to Hickman High School in nearby Columbia, Mo. The three-game series starts Thursday afternoon at 12 p.m., and concludes on Friday with a doubleheader starting at 10 a.m.
The Owls are coming off a game two-game series sweep of Ashford University. WWU played a doubleheader against the Saints this past Saturday in Memphis, Tenn., and held them scoreless on the day, as they took the first game 6-0, before collecting a 7-0 victory in game two. The pair of victories extended William Woods' winning streak to five games.
Dane Smith had a spectacular performance on the mound in game one by tossing a two-hit complete game shutout. It was the second complete game shutout in three starts this year for the righty, as he tied his career-high in strike outs with seven. So far on the year, Smith is a perfect 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA, and has posted a team-best 18 strikeouts in 20 innings this season. Opponents are hitting .150 against Smith in his three starts this year.
Ryan Yuengel got his first win of the year in game two, and struck out a season-high eight batters in the process. The junior gave up just two hits in his four innings of work. The outing was the longest on the season for the righty, as he is now 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA in three starts.
James Ball picked up his third save of the year in game two, by tossing three scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Ball has yet to yield a run this season, as he hold a perfect ERA through his first 17 innings in a WWU uniform. The righty has struck out 15 batters and has allowed just one walk on the season, and is holding opponents to a .136 batting average.
Zach Nichols continued his hot start to the 2014 season against Ashford, as he added two more runs to his team-leading 12 RBI's this week by driving in a pair of runners in game two's 7-0 victory. Nichols went 2-of-5 in game two, and is now hitting .375 with 12 hits in 32 at-bats.
Cody Stewart leads the team in hitting through the first 11 games of the year with 14 hits in 27 at-bats for a .519 average. The speedy centerfielder has collected a .559 on-base percentage, and has stolen a team-high five bases. Â Â
Hannibal-LaGrange has lost four straight games coming into Thursday's contest, and are winless in its last five games after settling for a 5-5 tie to Calumet back on Feb. 22.
Drew Morecraft leads the team in batting average, as he posted a .389 average in 18 at-bats this season. Andrew Pollard has posted a team-high nine hits and has driven in a team-best six RBI's and scored 12 runs on the year.
Stephen Schnieders has been the team's most dependable pitcher, as he has posted a 3.15 ERA in three starts this season. Schnieders has yet to win a game this season despite throwing a complete game against Calumet on Feb. 21. The righty has struck out 15 batters in a team-high 20 innings of work on the year.
William Woods won three of its four games against Hannibal-LaGrange last season, and holds the all-time series lead 45-18.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this week's games. Â
