COLUMBIA, Mo.— After sweeping past Hannibal-LaGrange University in the American Midwest Conference Quarterfinals, the No. 1 seeded William Woods University softball team will now take on the No. 4 seeded Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions at Antimi Softball Complex in Columbia, Mo., on Thursday afternoon. First-pitch will be thrown at 12 p.m. on Field 1.
The Owls shutout HLG its last time out, winning game one 9-0 and game two 5-0, behind the stellar pitching performances of seniors
MacKenzie Bowden and
Becca Schemmer, who combined to allow just two hits and struck out eight in 12.0 innings of work.
"When you give up just two hits in a doubleheader, good things are going to happen and sure enough they did," said head coach
Tracy Gastineau.
With the doubleheader victory over the Lady Trojans, the Owls, which moved up to No. 20 in the NAIA top 25 poll, have now won 19 out of their last 20 games. The offense is batting an eye popping .396, totaling 216 hits, 37 doubles, 11 triples and eight home runs during that span.
The pitching has been just as dominant, hurling 124.0 innings, allowing 15 earned runs and have a combined ERA of 0.85 between the trio of Bowden,
Julie Scheer and Schemmer.
The team has also won its last 10 games, outscoring its opponents 70-12, and have been led by
Emily Murphy's .560 average (14-for-25), with seven runs scored and eight RBI. Junior
Caroline Sicht has brought the power in the lineup, as she is hitting .500 (12-for-24), with four runs scored, two home runs, a team-high 15 RBI and a slugging percentage of .750.
Catcher
Macy Wierschem is batting just above the .450 mark (.455), totaling five runs scored and five RBI, while senior
Lindsey LeCuru is hitting .438 (14-for-32), with 11 runs scored and nine RBI.
On the rubber, Bowden is a perfect 4-0 during the last two weeks, holding a 0.00 ERA in 28.0 innings pitched, allowing four runs (zero earned) and struck out 33 batters. Scheer is 2-0 in her last two appearances, totaling seven strikeouts in 10.0 innings pitched, while Schemmer is also 4-0, with a 1.25 ERA and has struck out 12 batters.
This will be the second time this month that the Owls and Lady Lions will square off, as in their first meeting back on Apr. 5
th at Backer Sports Complex, WWU took game one 12-0, behind
Caroline Sicht's grand slam in the first inning and the team was able to hold on for the victory in the nightcap, 4-2.
"The past is the past and I think we will see a different Freed-Hardeman team tomorrow," said Gastineau. "We played well against them here, but with the way they have been playing, it should be a completely different ball game," she added
Since then, Freed-Hardeman (24-17; 17-5 AMC), has won nine games in a row, including taking both games in the AMC Quarterfinals against Williams Baptist, as the Lady Lions won games one and two 7-2.
Offensively, the team is led by Kamara Trice, who is batting an astounding .424 (50-for-118), with 32 runs scored, 14 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 39 RBI.
Amanda Bond has also swung the bat well in 38 appearances, as she is batting .375 (39-for-104), with seven doubles and 27 RBI. Sarah Elizabeth Cousar is hitting .305, with 20 runs scored and 22 RBI, while Bailey Morgan is another player to keep an eye out for, as she has slugged five home runs to go along with her .274 average.
On the mound, Cousar leads the staff with a 2.09 ERA and leads the team in numerous categories including wins (13), complete games (16), shutouts (5), innings pitched (147.1) and strikeouts (168). Trice has also fared well this season, as she is 9-3, with a 2.69 ERA in 88.1 innings pitched and struck out 43 batters.
A win by the Owls against Freed-Hardeman and the team will play again at 2 p.m. on Field 1 against the winner of Columbia College and Park University. If WWU falls against FHU, the Owls will still play at 2 p.m. and face the loser of Columbia and Park in the double elimination AMC Tournament.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap from Columbia, Mo.
