WALNUT RIDGE, Ark.—The No. 21-ranked William Woods University softball team has a chance to take the American Midwest Conference regular season title down in Arkansas this weekend and first-up for the Owls is the always tough Williams Baptist College Lady Eagles on Friday afternoon, with first-pitch beginning at 2 p.m., and game two following at 4 p.m.
The Owls (30-15; 16-2 AMC), picked up two more wins on Apr. 12
th against Missouri Baptist, which extended its winning streak to four games and the team has now won 13 out of its last 14 games.
During that stretch, the offense is batting .418, slugging .579 and have an on-base percentage of .485.
Grace Fritz has appeared in five games, but has made it count when called upon, as she is batting .571 (8-for-14), with seven runs scored, one double, one triple and seven RBI.
Catcher
Macy Wierschem is hitting .500 (12-for-24), with five runs scored and five RBI, while
Emily Murphy continues to swing the hot bat, holding a .487 average (19-for-39), with five runs scored and 13 RBI.
Kacey Schanhorst has upped her season average to .347 and RBI total to 31, after batting .447 the last 14 games, with 11 runs scored and 11 RBI. Senior
Lindsey LeCuru continues to be one of many players to have a career-year this season, as she is batting .359 in 2014, while contributing a team-high 14 RBI the last two weeks.
Freshman
Hannah Campbell has also made an impact in her first season at the leadoff position in the lineup, as with her .429 average the last 14 games, she has now moved above the .300 mark (.311 avg) on the year, and is first on the team in runs scored (34) and third in RBI (27).
The trio of
MacKenzie Bowden,
Julie Scheer and
Becca Schemmer have been nearly unhittable all season, as they have combined for 306 strikeouts, which is second most in the NAIA. During these 14 games, the pitching staff holds a team ERA of 0.85, while opposing hitters are hitting a mere .179.
In 82.0 innings pitched, they have allowed just 12 runs (10 earned), walked 12 and struck out an astounding 85 batters, while totaling nine shutouts. Scheer has been masterful this year, as in her last four starts, she is 4-0 with a 0.35 ERA, which moves her season statistics to 7-0 and a 0.89 ERA in eight appearances.
Bowden is 5-0 and has added one save in her last six appearances on the rubber, totaling 49 strikeouts in 31.0 innings pitched and having an ERA of 0.45. On the season, she is 15-7 with a 1.05 ERA and has totaled 212 strikeouts, which is first in the AMC and third in the NAIA.
Fellow senior Schemmer, has been just as solid, having a 4-1 record in her last five starts, throwing four complete games and totaling 13 strikeouts. On the season, she is 8-8 with a 2.28 ERA and has totaled a career-high 62 strikeouts.
Awaiting William Woods and looking to play spoiler for their regular season title is the Williams Baptist College Lady Eagles (15-17; 8-6 AMC).
After having an up-and-down season thus far, the Lady Eagles have won six of their last eight, gaining wins against Harris-Stowe (2), Lyon College, Freed-Hardeman, and Mid-Continent University (2).
The offense has a team-batting average of .294, and are led by Kayla Jones's .377 average (29-for-77), with 10 runs scored, a team-high seven doubles and 16 RBI. Mallory Siebert is hitting .373 (31-for-83) with 25 runs scored, six RBI and has an on-base percentage of .422.
The power in the lineup is coming from Cindy Nippe (.337 avg) and Callie Brooks (.326 avg), as the duo has combined for 34 runs scored, four home runs and 38 RBI. Kristen Gipson also has two home runs and tallied 14 RBI to go along with her .342 average.
What was a strongpoint for the Lady Eagles last year with Karisa Hendrix and Shelby Anderson on the mound, has now suffered, as they went from a 1.16 team ERA last season, to a 4.17 ERA this season.
Cendyl Carter leads the hurlers with a 3.38 ERA in 19 appearances, totaling seven wins in 109.2 innings pitched and 41 strikeouts. Rylee Rogers leads the team with eight victories in 72.0 innings of work, while totaling 44 strikeouts and a 4.28 ERA.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the AMC Final Four at Columbia College last year, where the Owls defeated WBC 2-1, behind the pitching performance of Bowden who struck out 13 batters and
Ilissa Facchini's game-winning RBI double in the top of the eighth.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from Walnut Ridge, Ark.
