Story written by Sports Information Intern Scott Barker
FULTON, Mo.—The No. 19-ranked William Woods University softball team earned its first two American Midwest Conference (AMC) wins on the year over the Benedictine University at Springfield Bulldogs on Monday afternoon, as the Owls won both games by the score of 8-0 (5 innings). With her victory over the Bulldogs in game one, head coach Tracy Gastineau totaled her 600^th career victory.
 
"Both of our freshman pitchers did a great job on the mound today," said Gastineau. "The biggest difference being we only gave up one walk on the day.  That's been a struggle of ours and both were sharp today. Obviously, Bre Logan's perfect game is a great achievement for her and for our team, so I'm very pleased with their demeanor and presence on the mound."
 
She added, "Offensively, we had some big innings and had a lot of hard hit balls.  When you put up crooked numbers in an inning, it allows your defense to settle in and also gives your offense an opportunity to relax and have quality at-bats."
 
 
No. 19 William Woods 8 Benedictine University at Springfield 0 (5 innings)
In game one, the Owls (9-10; 2-0 AMC) offense got off to another fast start, as Hannah Campbell led off with a walk and then stole second during Sydnae Hatton's at-bat.
 
After a passed ball and a walk to Hatton, the Owls got on the board, as Hatton stole second, which forced the Bulldog catcher to throw down in an attempt to catch her stealing, but that allowed Campbell to steal home and give WWU a 1-0 advantage.
 
Then, two batters later, junior Emily Murphy pushed the lead to 2-0, as she singled to left and scored Hatton from third.
 
William Woods would continue to hit well in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Shelby LeCuru singed on a hard hit line drive to centerfield. Sam Parsons would reach first on a fielder's choice, advancing LeCuru to second. The Owls would proceed to load the bases, after Campbell singled, and then Hatton came through, as she singled and scored LeCuru to make it 3-0 WWU.
 
The best scoring chance for the Bulldogs, 1-16 (1-5 AMC) came in the top of the third inning, as Lindsey Buhnerkemper hit a one out double to deep left and would advance to third on a single by Dakota Swingler. With Nicole Ramirez batting Swingler would steal second. William Woods pitcher, Allison Waskow, would strikeout Ramirez, walk Sarah Worster to load the bases, and then strikeout Jennifer Jennings to end the threat and strand the bases loaded to keep the Owls lead at 3-0.
 
WWU would bust the game wide open in the bottom of the third scoring four runs on five hits, highlighted by two two-run singles by Campbell and Kacey Scharnhorst, to give the Owls the 7-0 lead.
 
William Woods would round out the scoring in the bottom of the fourth as Caroline Sicht led off with a single to right-center, followed by another single to right by Madison McCormick, who was then thrown out at second trying to stretch the single into a double. Julie Scheer, pinch-running for Sicht, would score the Owls eighth run on an RBI groundout by LeCuru, to give the Owls the 8-0 (5 inning) win.
 
Allison Waskow earned her fourth win on the year by pitching five innings, giving up no runs, on two hits, striking out six, and walking two. .
 
No. 19 William Woods 8 Benedictine University at Springfield 0 (5 innings)
In game two, the Owls got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, as Campbell reached second on a dropped fly ball in shallow centerfield. Campbell would move up to third on a groundout by Hatton, and then score on a sacrifice fly by Scharnhorst for the 1-0 William Woods lead.  
 
The second and third innings went scoreless, as Owls starter Bre Logan and Bulldog starter Abbie Watton made quick of each opposing offense.
 
In the bottom of the fourth inning the Owls offense erupted for seven runs on five hits. Alexi Cavins and LeCuru had an RBI single each and Campbell added a two-run single. With the bases loaded Murphy would add to the 5-0 lead by hitting a bases clearing double off the left field fence to give the Owls the 8-0 victory in five innings.
 
Bre Logan improved to 3-2 on the year, as she pitched a perfect game for William Woods, as she struck out seven over five innings pitched to earn the victory.
 
The loss went to Abbie Watton, who gave up eight runs (seven earned), over four innings pitched. She also walked four and added one strikeout.
 
The Owls will be back in action on Friday, March 20^th, as they will host Hannibal-LaGrange University for a doubleheader at Backer Sports Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com Thursday afternoon for a full preview of Friday's action.

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