Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 FULTON, Mo.—The No. 23-ranked William Woods University softball team picked up wins 13 and 14 in the American Midwest Conference, as the Owls dominated Harris-Stowe State on Friday afternoon, outscoring them 28-1 in 10.0 innings of play.
William Woods University 13 Harris-Stowe State 0 (5 innings)The Owls (28-15; 14-2 AMC), put the game away in the bottom of the first, as the team plated 10 runs on nine hits and were helped out by three Hornet defensive errors to take a very comfortable lead out of the gate.
Picking up RBI in the first inning included
Shelby LeCuru,
Kacey Scharnhorst,
Alexi Cavins,
Caroline Sicht,
Grace Fritz,
Sydnae Hatton,
Hannah Campbell and
Lindsey LeCuru.
That lead was more than enough for junior transfer
Julie Scheer, who was making her first start on the mound since her first no-hitter as an Owl in game one against St. Louis College of Pharmacy back on Mar. 31
st. The New Haven, Mo., native was masterful against the Hornet hitters, allowing just three hits and struck out three to pick up her sixth victory on the year.
WWU would go on to tally one more RBI in the second, third and fourth inning, and cruised to a 13-run victory over HSSU.
The offense totaled 15 hits in the game, led by Cavins going 2-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI. Sicht also went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI, while leadoff hitter Campbell was able to extend her hitting streak to four games, as she closed out game one 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Shelby LeCuru went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI, while
Brittany Bexten,
Brailee Schulte, Scharnhorst,
Madison McCormick,
Lindsey LeCuru,
Hillary Hentges and Fritz added one hit each.
William Woods University 15 Harris-Stowe State 1 (5 innings) The offense again jumped out on the Hornets in game two, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, as Scharnhorst hit a sacrifice fly to left, which scored Campbell from third, who led the inning off with a single to left-center and in the process extended her hitting streak to a career-high five games.
The Hornets, however, tied the game up at 1-1 in the bottom of the first, as Britini Diesen hit a sacrifice fly to left and scored Kristine Hallaquist, who also led the inning off with a single.
The tie game was very short-lived, as in the top of the second,
Beth Begemann led off with a walk, Fritz followed her up with a bunt, but Hallaquist's throw to first went airborne over the first baseman, allowing Begemann to score from first and put Fritz on second, giving WWU a 2-1 lead.
McCormick then ripped a double to left-center, scoring Fritz and extending the Owls lead to 3-1.
Sam Parsons reached base on a bunt single, putting runners on the corners from Hatton, who executed a squeeze play, laying down a perfect bunt, which scored McCormick to put WWU ahead 4-1. Then, a defensive error by the Hornets scored Parsons and at the end of two innings, William Woods was up 5-1.
The Owls had another breakout inning in the top of the fourth, scoring nine runs on nine hits, which drained all the energy from the Hornets and the team was able to go on and add another run in the top of the fifth and take the finale 15-1.
The win in game two gave the Owls 14 conference victories, which is now a program record, breaking the previous mark of 13 AMC wins set back in 2009.
Scheer got the win again in game two and is now a perfect 7-0 on the year with a 0.89 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched.
The offense totaled 20 hits against the Hornet pitching staff, led by Parsons going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Campbell,
Lindsey LeCuru, Fritz and
Megan Cooper each totaled two hits and combined for four RBI, while Bexten,
Shelby LeCuru, Scharnhorst, Schulte, Begemann, McCormick and Hatt each added one hit and one RBI.
The Owls will be back in action tomorrow afternoon in its final regular season home game against Missouri Baptist University. First-pitch will be thrown at 1 p.m., with game two following at 3 p.m. from Backer Sports Complex.
Also, the coaching staff and the team will honor its three seniors,
MacKenzie Bowden,
Lindsey LeCuru and
Becca Schemmer for their outstanding careers wearing the WWU uniform.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com throughout the 2014 season for full previews and recaps on the Owls softball team.
