ST. CHARLES, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University softball team will be playing in their third and final tournament on the season, as the Owls travel to St. Charles, Mo., for a four-game series in the Lindenwood-Belleville tournament.
The games were originally scheduled to be played at Lindenwood-Belleville, but this week, all games were moved to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.
The Owls (7-6), are coming off a 2-2 road trip in Oklahoma, where the Owls defeated Bacone and Bethany College by a combined 24-5, but fell to No. 23-ranked Central Methodist University (1-0) and Northeastern State University (5-4), by a total of two runs.
During those four games, the offense batted .362, led by
Kacey Scharnhorst batting .636 (7-for-11) with five runs scored, one double, one home run, four RBI, a 1.000 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .692.
Eight other Owls held an average over .400, while on the mound,
Julie Scheer picked up her first victory as a member of WWU, throwing five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and struck out three.
Becca Schemmer (2.33) and
MacKenzie Bowden (2.55) also pitched well this past weekend, combining for 23 strikeouts and an earned run average under 3.00.
Up first for the Owls on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. is Purdue University-Calumet (3-1), who are competing in the NAIA for the first-time since the 1970's. The team has outscored its opponents 42-11 on the season, with its lone loss coming against St. Ambrose 5-3 back on Feb. 22
nd.
The Peregrines are batting .433 through four games, led by Ashley Adams hitting .667 (8-for-12) with five runs scored, three triples and eight RBI. Ana Duda and Alicia Ward are also both off to impressive starts, as the duo is both hitting .500, combining for 12 hits, 12 runs scored, four doubles and 13 RBI.
On the hill, the hurlers of Shelbie Jones and Alison Kimble, are 3-1 on the year, with two complete games and have combined to strike out 22 batters.
Then, at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Owls will play another tough team receiving votes in the NAIA preseason poll, as they square off against (RV) Indiana University-Southeast.
The Grenadiers (3-1), are looking to build off an impressive 2013 campaign, where they went 36-9 (23-3 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and won the KIAC regular season and conference title for the second straight year.
The offense is led by Darcy Sapp, batting .500 (6-for-12) with four runs scored, two doubles and one RBI, while Katelyn Heines is second on the team in batting average (.455) and is tied for first with a .571 on-base percentage.
Jessica Leanhart, meanwhile, leads a trio of pitchers, with a 2-0 record through 13 innings pitched, allowing eight runs and has a K/BB ratio of 14/1. Reigning KIAC Pitcher of the Year, Jessica Swain, is off to a slow start through two games, having a 5.79 ERA, allowing 10 runs on eight hits.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, the Owls will play host Lindenwood University-Belleville (3-7-1), who are set to enter the American Midwest Conference next year.
The Lady Lynx started its season off slowly, but picked up a doubleheader sweep over Stephens College its last time out, winning by a combined score of 27-2. Kaylin Stewart (.438 avg) and Mikayla Conlin (.429 avg) pace the offense, totaling 23 hits, 12 runs scored, three home runs and seven runs batted in.
Starter Sierra Brown leads the Lady Lynx on the mound with a 3.16 ERA (1-3) in five starts, hurling three complete games in 31.0 innings pitched, striking out 17 batters and holding opponents to a .235 batting average.
To close out the tournament, the Owls will play second year program Roosevelt University at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Lakers, who have yet to play in a game this season, where they finished 14-26 with a freshman heavy roster and went 9-11 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The offense in 2013 was led by Kristy Santora, batting a team-high .415, totaling 51 hits, 25 runs, 14 doubles, eight home runs and 37 RBI. Kelly Crowley also had an impressive season, finishing with a .385 average, while Morgan Vogt (.382 avg) and Amanda Ferguson (.361 avg) also ended the year with an average above .350.
Vogt also led the Lakers on the mound, going 11-12 in 25 appearances, totaling 18 complete games, three shutouts and striking out a team-high 77 batters.
To watch all the Owls games this past weekend, catch the live stats
HERE.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com on Saturday evening for a full recap and scores from St. Charles, Mo.
