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Box Score 2 WALNUT RIDGE, Ark.—Thanks to the offensive outburst provided by junior infielder
Caroline Sicht, who finished the day 4-for-7 with one run scored, a grand slam and eight RBI, the No. 21-ranked William Woods University softball team has all but locked up the American Midwest Conference regular season title with two games left.
William Woods University 6 Williams Baptist College 3 The Owls (32-15; 18-2 AMC), jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, as after back-to-back singles by
Emily Murphy and
Macy Wierschem, the duo moved up a base after
Alexi Cavins grounded out to third.
Sicht, then, came to the dish and grounded out to the pitcher's mound, but that allowed Murphy to score from third, to give the team the early advantage.
In the top of the third,
Shelby LeCuru singled and
Kacey Scharnhorst reached base on a fielder's choice, putting two runners on with nobody out.
Lindsey LeCuru then singled to left, scoring her sister
Shelby LeCuru from third, and extended the teams' lead to 2-0.
After a sacrifice bunt by Murphy, Wierschem was able to reach base on another fielder's choice, which loaded up the bases with one down. After Lady Eagle starter Cendyl Carter retired the next batter, Sicht came through with a single to deep center, scoring Scharnhorst and
Lindsey LeCuru, and gave WWU a 4-0 lead.
Williams Baptist (15-19; 8-8 AMC) would get one run back in the home half of the third, even though they didn't have a hit, as Mallory Siebert led the inning off with a single, and later scored on a wild pitch from third by starter
MacKenzie Bowden.
The Owls would bring home two more runs in the top of the fourth on three hits, getting RBI from
Lindsey LeCuru and Wierschem, which gave the team some breathing room with a 6-1 advantage.
Kylie Underwood would hit a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the lead down to three, but the comeback was not to be for WBC, as Bowden shutdown the Lady Eagles the rest of the way and the Owls held on for the three-run victory.
Bowden, a Hartsburg, Mo., native, picked up her 16
th victory on the season, one off her career-high set back in her freshman year, as she allowed three runs (zero earned) on three hits and struck out 12 batters.
The offense totaled six runs on 10 hits, led by Sicht going 2-for-4 with three RBI, while
Shelby LeCuru,
Lindsey LeCuru, and Wierschem each added two hits and combined for three RBI.
William Woods University 7 Williams Baptist College 2In game two, it was the Lady Eagles jumping out to the early advantage this time around in the first, as WBC scored two runs on three hits on the Owls senior pitcher
Becca Schemmer to take a 2-0 lead.
The Owls would total one run in the bottom of the first, as
Lindsey LeCuru hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field, which scored
Hannah Campbell, putting the scoreboard at 2-1 WBC.
The game was broke open in the bottom of the third, as Scharnhorst reached on a walk to start the inning and she advanced to second on
Lindsey LeCuru's single to left. After a line-out and a walk to Wierschem, the bases were loaded for Sicht, who smashed the 2-2 offering over the left field fence, giving her two grand slams in the month of April.
Her last grand slam was back on Apr. 5
th against Freed-Hardeman University, which was the highlight of a seven-run first inning against the Lady Lions.
WWU would finish off the Lady Eagles in the bottom of the fifth, as the team scored two runs on three hits, getting another RBI from Sicht, while the other run was brought home by a Lady Eagle defensive error.
After a tough start to the game, Schemmer allowed only one base runner the final six innings of work and she was able to pick up her ninth victory on the season, as the Owls won its sixth straight game and took the nightcap against WBC 7-2.
Schemmer, a Huntsville, Mo., native, was brilliant on the rubber after the first, as she finished the game allowing two runs on four hits and struck out two.
Offensively, the Owls totaled seven runs on seven hits, led by Sicht going 2-for-3 with one run scored and totaling a career-high five RBI.
Lindsey LeCuru extended her hitting streak to six, after going 1-for-3 with one run scored in game two, while Murphy, Wierschem,
Sam Parsons and
Hillary Hentges added one hit each.
The Owls were able to gain some breathing room in the AMC standings, as Freed-Hardeman University was able to sweep Columbia College today.
All WWU needs to do tomorrow in order to become the AMC regular season champions and earn an automatic bid to the NAIA Opening Round, is win one game against an improving Lyon College team.
Lyon College (17-21; 9-11 AMC), currently holds down the No. 8-seed in the AMC standings, as the Scots were able to sweep Missouri Baptist University today, and the team has now won four out of its last five games.
The Scots are batting .313 on the season, and are led by Stephanie Haft leading the team in numerous categories, including average (.414 avg), hits (46), doubles (17), triples (2), home runs (2) and RBI (34). Savannah Graham is also having a fantastic 2014 season at the plate, as she holds a .383 average, with a team-high 30 runs scored and has an on-base percentage of .448.
Haley Huffstuttler is hitting just a shade under .340 (.339 avg) and has totaled 28 RBI, while Krysta Cook (.319 avg), Savannah Fuller (.315 avg), Katherine Bartley (.313 avg) and Lexi Reyes (.310 avg) are the other Scots hitters to keep an eye on.
What has not lived up to the performance of the offense, has been the Scot pitching, as the team holds a 5.33 ERA and opposing hitters are batting .330 against a trio of starters. Reyes leads the team with a 4.45 ERA in 19 appearances, has won five games and struck out 42 batters. Fuller has thrown in the most innings (99.1) and totaled the most strikeouts (56), but has a 4.79 ERA and allowed 90 runs on the rubber. Hope Woods leads the team with a 6-2 record on the mound, but has appeared in just 52.1 innings and has a 7.58 ERA.
There will be no live stats for tomorrow's doubleheader, as the Lyon College baseball team is also in action.
Fans, however, stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a final regular season recap and scores from Batesville, Ark.
