Box Score COLUMBIA, Mo.—The No. 1 seeded William Woods University softball team cruised to its second consecutive American Midwest Conference Championship on Friday afternoon, as the Owls defeated the No. 2 seed Columbia College Cougars 6-0.
"It feels really good to be champions again in this conference," said head coach
Tracy Gastineau. "This was a four team tournament and the NAIA Opening Round will also be a four team tournament, so to be the No. 1 seed and come on top is great," she added.
The Owls (39-15; 20-2 AMC), like they have throughout the season, jumped out to the early advantage, as they scored four runs on three hits in the bottom of the first.
Shelby LeCuru got things going with a one-out single up the middle, then Columbia starter Lauren McCroskie got the next batter to retire for the second out of the inning.
Lindsey LeCuru was up next and McCroskie attempted to intentionally walk the senior, but her first throw went high and wide of the catcher, which allowed
Shelby LeCuru to move over to third.
McCroskie was eventually able to walk
Lindsey LeCuru, putting runners on the corners for hot-hitting
Emily Murphy, who was coming off a three home run day on Thursday. The Tulsa, Okla., native, ripped a single to left, scoring
Shelby LeCuru and putting WWU up 1-0.
The struggles continued for McCorskie, as she walked
Macy Wierschem to load up the bases, then walked
Alexi Cavins, her third of the inning, which allowed
Lindsey LeCuru to score.
Paxton Welch came on in relief to pitch and she couldn't slow down this high powered WWU offense, as
Caroline Sicht singled to right, scoring Murphy and Wierschem, which extend the teams' lead to 4-0.
With senior
MacKenzie Bowden on the mound, that lead was more than enough for the Hartsburg, Mo., native, as she went the distance, allowing just four hits and struck out five batters to pick up her 20
th win on the season.
WWU extended its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth, as
Hannah Campbell singled to center, which brought home pinch-runner
Sam Parsons.
The Owls closed out the game in the fifth, as Parsons reached on a fielder's choice, allowing
Lindsey LeCuru to score from third and behind Bowden on the rubber, WWU went on to the 2014 AMC Championship by six runs.
The Owls totaled eight hits in the game, with
Shelby LeCuru totaling a game-high two hits and scored once. Sicht led the day in the RBI department, as the junior went 1-for-2 with two RBI, while Cavins, Wierschem, Murphy,
Lindsey LeCuru and Campbell each added one hit.
"We had some big contributions these last couple games to win the AMC," said Gastineau. "Emily (Murphy), hadn't hit a home run all season, but hit three yesterday. We just got production up-and-down the lineup and even when we got out, the players had quality at-bats."
At the conclusion of the game, the AMC handed out its seasonal awards. Bowden earned AMC Pitcher of the Year, after having a career-season, where she went 20-7 with a 0.90 ERA in 171.0 innings pitched and totaled 261 strikeouts.
The Owls had four players earn first-team all-conference honors, as Bowden was joined by seniors
Lindsey LeCuru,
Becca Schemmer, while junior catcher Wierschem earns the honor for the first time in her career. The accolades continued for WWU, as Scharnhorst and Murphy were named to the honorable mention team.
"I think all my kids deserve all-conference," said Gastineau. "I thought Emily (Murphy) and Kacey (Scharnhorst) played very important roles all year in the No. 3 and No. 5 spots in our lineup. Obviously, MacKenzie and Becca had career seasons and to do that as seniors makes my job very easy as a coach," she added.
After leading her team to a program record 20 wins in the AMC, coach Gastineau was named 2014 AMC Coach of the Year.
"The Coach of the Year award is all about your players," said Gastineau. "I have a great group of young ladies who played really well and played for me in a system that is demanding, but did it with a smile on their face."
The Owls will now play the waiting game and see where they will head for the NAIA Opening Round, which is set to begin on May 12
th, as the NAIA will announce on Tuesday May 6
th the opening round pairings.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com next week for a full preview of where and who the Owls will be playing in the NAIA Opening Round.
