KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The No. 19-ranked William Woods University softball team hits the road on Saturday for doubleheader action at Avila University. The Owls will play Avila at 1:30 p.m., followed by Briar Cliff University at 3:30 p.m.
The Owls (3-8), were originally scheduled to host Avila University on Saturday, but due to weather conditions, the games' were moved out to Kansas City, Missouri.
WWU is looking to snap its four-game skid, as they are coming off a 1-4 record at the NFCA Leadoff Classic down in Georgia. In the weekend series, the Owls batted .262 as a team, while totaling 16 runs scored, three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI.
Leading the way was
Beth Begemann, as she batted a team-high .800, while hitting her first home run on the season and totaling two RBI. Senior
Julie Scheer hit .750, while junior
Emily Murphy continued to swing the bat well, going 5-for-12 (.417 avg), with one RBI.
Brailee Schulte, a Jefferson City, Missouri, native, was the final Owl to bat over .300, as she hit her way to a .400 average. Senior
Kacey Scharnhorst batted .294 (5-for-17) and tied teammate
Caroline Sicht with three RBI, with Sicht also slugging a team-high two home runs over the weekend.
On the rubber, freshman hurler
Bre Logan led the way with a 2.15 ERA, while going 1-1 in 13.0 innings pitched and struck out six batters. Another freshman,
Allison Waskow, earned a 2.72 ERA in 18.0 innings of work and struck out a team-high 16 batters.
On the season, the Owls are batting .289 as a team and are led by Murphy's .469 average (15-for-32) in 10 games played. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native, leads WWU with a team-high four doubles, while totaling six RBI, a slugging percentage of .656 and an on-base percentage of .514.
Begemann and
Alexi Cavins are hitting .455 and .357 respectively, while Sicht upped her season average to .310 (9-for-29), with four runs scored, three doubles, two home runs and a team-high seven RBI.
Macy Wierschem is also off to a strong start to the season, hitting .308 (8-for-26), while scoring five runs and adding six RBI.
Inside the circle, Logan leads the trio of starters, as she owns a 3.84 ERA in five appearances. The Columbia, Missouri, native, is 2-1 on the year in 27.1 innings pitched and has struck out 16. Waskow, meanwhile, is 1-4 on the year with a 4.29 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched, but owns an impressive K/BB ratio of 23/5.
Up first for the Owls on Saturday will be Avila University (4-1), who are currently riding a season-high four game winning streak. The team is coming off an impressive performance against Tabor (Kan.), as they outscored them 29-8 in the doubleheader.
On the season, the Eagles are hitting an eye-popping .432 as a team and are led by Madison Mueth's .600 average in five games played, while totaling four runs scored and a team-high six RBI. Jordan Shewmaker is second on the team with a .529 average (9-for-17) and has added seven runs scored, one home run and five RBI.
Samantha Dexter holds a .500 average (9-for-18), with five runs scored and five RBI, while Sam Castoldi (.438) and Abbi King (.421) are the final Eagles to be hitting at least .400 on the year thus far.
On the rubber, Jennifer Hammonds holds a team-best 4.27 ERA, while collecting one win in three starts and has struck out 23 batters. Shewmaker, has also found success pitching for Avila, as she is 3-0 in 15.0 innings pitched, but owns a 6.07 ERA.
At 3:30 p.m., the Owls will take on Briar Cliff and this weekend's action at Avila University will be its first games on the 2015 season. BC is coming off an 18-22 (8-12 Great Plains Athletic Conference) overall record in 2014.
The team loses its four leading hitters from last season, but returning is Brooke Lyman, who batted .283 (36-for-127), with 21 runs scored, seven doubles and was third on the team with 20 RBI.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from Kansas City, Missouri. Â
