FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University baseball team returns home from a successful five-game road trip last week, as they look to extend its recent winning streak to six games by challenging Missouri Valley College on Tuesday night. First pitch from Owls Field is set for 6 p.m.
William Woods (32-9) is coming off a five-game road trip where it posted a perfect 5-0 record, as they collected a pair of sweeps against MidAmerica Nazarene University and American Midwest Conference opponent Mid-Continent University. The Owls swept a doubleheader against the Pioneers last Tuesday, then went on to take all three games from the Cougars this past weekend, outscoring MCU 36-8 in the three-game set.
For Missouri Valley College (10-28), they are coming off of a four-game series split against Culver-Stockton College. The Vikings, who play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, have been playing better of late, by winning three of their last five contests. Before the recent five-game stretch, MVC had dropped 11 straight contest. They finally broke the streak by salvaging the final game of a four-game set against Central Methodist University two weekends ago.
The Owls are no strangers to HAAC opponents this season, as Tuesday will be the sixth meeting between WWU and a HAAC team. William Woods is currently 5-1 against the conference this season, and have swept both Culver-Stockton (5-4, 10-9) and conference leader MidAmerica Nazarene (4-3, 10-2). The lone loss came earlier in the season, as Central Methodist won a slugfest, 13-8, back on Mar. 9 at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo.
The first seven hitters of the William Woods lineup has been on fire during its five-game winning streak. The top seven in the everyday lineup is hitting .336 (43-for-125) with a triple, four home runs, and 28 RBIs. No. 2-hitter Cody Stewart highlights the group, as he has collected an RBI in each of the five wins last week, and hit a team-best .421 (8-for-19) over the five-game stretch.
Stewart is one of three Owls who brings in a hitting streak into Tuesday's contest. The Temecula, Calif., native is currently on an 11-game hitting streak that dates back to April 5. He is hitting an even .500 (18-for-36) with a pair of doubles and 13 runs driven in in the last 11 games.
Matt Thomas and Sam Moon are the other two WWU players who have a current hitting streak going. Thomas is on a six-game hitting streak, while Moon has currently hit in five straight contests. Thomas is hitting .400 (10-for-25) at the plate with six RBIs, and Moon has posted a .334 batting average (6-for-18) with a home run and three RBIs.
Not only has the hitting been on fire of late, but so has the pitching. William Woods' starters have turned in four straight quality starts entering Tuesday. In the last four games, Owls starters are 4-0 with a 3.42 ERA with 18 strike outs and nine walks in 26.1 innings pitched.
Tuesday's starter Garret Haslag got the quality start streak started last Tuesday, by tossing 6.1 innings of five-hit, two-run ball in game two against MidAmerica Nazarene, in what has been his best start to date this season. The sophomore is currently 1-1 on the year, and has posted a 6.75 ERA in five games with four starts.
Missouri Valley College will be looking for its third win in five games after splitting a four-game home series against Culver-Stockton this past weekend. The Vikings took games one and three (4-3, 12-6), but were unable to take the series, as they dropped games two and four (6-3, 17-3).
On the year, MVC is posting a .285 team batting average. Bobby Warchuck leads the way for Missouri Valley, as he holds a .370 batting average coming into Tuesday's game. Warchuck hit .556 (5-for-9) with three doubles and an RBI in the four-game set against Culver-Stockton, as he played in just the final two games of the series.
Josh Felz is one of two players who have collected at least 20 RBIs this season, as he leads the team in the category with 26. The third baseman is on a five-game hitting streak, as he has driven in six RBIs over the stretch.
On the mound, MVC holds an 8.40 team ERA with 133 strikeouts in 258.1 innings pitched. Kevin Key is the team's top starter with his 2-5 record and a 5.62 ERA. The starter last pitched on April 11 against Central Methodist, and he went 6.2 innings that day, giving up seven runs (five earned) on 11 hits.
It's been almost a year to the day since these two teams last met. Back on April 24, 2013, William Woods defeated Missouri Valley, 9-7, at Owls Field. Despite the loss, MVC still leads the all-time series leads, 16-10-1.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every game during the 2014 season.
