FULTON, Mo.— The No. 19-ranked William Woods University softball team will finally get to play in front of the home crowd on Sunday afternoon, as the Owls host Westminster College at 12:30 p.m. and then will take on Briar Cliff University at 4:30 p.m. to close out the day.
In between the first and third game, Briar Cliff and Westminster College will go head-to-head at 2:30 p.m.
The Owls (4-9), are coming off a 1-1 showing at Avila University on Saturday afternoon, as the team dropped game one against the Eagles 6-2, but responded with an impressive 3-1 win over Briar Cliff, which snapped the teams' five game losing streak.
As a team, the Owls batted .217 in the two games and were led by
Sydnae Hatton, hitting a team-high .667 (2-for-3) with one runs scored and an on-base percentage of .833.
Senior
Kacey Scharnhorst went 3-for-6 (.500 avg), with one run scored, one triple and a team-high two RBI, while another senior,
Macy Wierschem, went 1-for-3 with her lone hit being a solo home run against Avila.
On the rubber, freshman
Allison Waskow shined in game two against the Chargers, hurling a complete game, while allowing one run (zero earned) on five hits and struck out seven batters.
Thus far, William Woods holds a team batting average of .280, with 50 runs scored, 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 39 RBI.
Leading the way has been junior
Emily Murphy, hitting .444 (16-for-36) with three runs scored, four doubles, six RBI and a slugging percentage of .611.
Beth Begemann has hit her way to a .357 average thus far with one home run, while Hatton is off to a quick start, batting .324 (12-for-37) through 13 games and has scored six runs.
Wierschem, a Waterloo, Illinois, native, has upped her season average to .310, while adding one home run and a team-high seven RBI. Scharnhorst, meanwhile, is hitting right at the .300 average (12-for-40), with four runs scored and is tied with Murphy with six RBI. Senior
Caroline Sicht has also provided power in the lineup, leading the team with two home runs and has contributed seven RBI to go along with her .281 average.
Inside the circle, Waskow has improved her ERA to a team-best 3.53, while collecting two wins in 39.2 innings pitched. The freshman has also struck out a team-high 30 batters and walked just nine, while holding opponents to a .285 average.
Another freshman,
Bre Logan, is 2-2 on the year, having one shutout in 33.1 innings pitched and has collected an ERA of 4.20 thus far.
At 12:30 p.m., the Owls will face Westminster College (0-3), who are searching for its first win on the young season, as they are coming off a 7-0 loss against Washington University-St. Louis back on February 28
th.
Offensively, the team is led by Amber Tepen, hitting .500 (5-for-10), with one run scored, one double and one RBI. Allison Biggs is batting .333 and has contributed a team-high two RBI, while Anne Baker is hitting .250 through three games.
On the rubber, the Blue Jays are led by starter Alyson Hahn, who holds a 3.60 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched, while allowing 10 runs (six earned) and has struck out seven batters.
At 4:30 p.m. the Owls face the Chargers of Briar Cliff (0-2), who dropped its first two games on the 2015 season, as prior to falling 3-1 to WWU, the Chargers lost 5-2 against Avila University. Against the Eagles, BC was led by leadoff hitter Katlin Briley going 2-for-4.
Danielle Ishii and Brooke Lyman contributed one hit and one RBI each, while Abby Thomsen went 1-for-3 with one run scored. In game two against WWU, Jessica Bastian stood out offensively, going 2-for-3 with one RBI, while Ashley Del Alto also went 2-for-3.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Sunday night for a full recap and scores from Backer Sports Complex.
