Story written by Sports Information Intern Scott BarkerFULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University softball team split its doubleheader against Williams Baptist College, as the Owls won game one 9-8 (9 innings) and then fell to the Lady Eagles 7-3 in game two.
William Woods University 9 Williams Baptist College 8 (9 innings)The Owls (18-19; 7-5 AMC) got off to a fast start, as they pushed across a run in the bottom of the first.
Hannah Campbell reached first on an error and then stole second.
Sydnae Hatton hit a sacrifice bunt to move Campbell over to third, who then scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by
Kacey Scharnhorst, to give the Owls the early 1-0 lead.
Cindy Nippe got things going in the top of the second for the Lady Eagles (21-12; 12-8 AMC) as she led off the inning with a solo homerun to tie the game at 1-1. Jordyn Barkowsky hit a two-out single to right and then scored after Madelyn Poe reached on an error by the Owls defense. Poe would then score on a single by Susannah Pugh to give the Lady Eagles a 3-1 lead.
Emily Murphy led off the bottom of the second with a double off the fence to left field. After a walk to
Julie Scheer and a
Caroline Sicht sacrifice bunt,
Madison McCormick reached on a dropped fly ball, scoring both Murphy and Scheer to tie the game up at 3-3.
After Williams Baptist regained the lead with three runs in the top of the third, the Owls would close the gap scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Sicht and
Macy Wierschem led off the inning with back-to-back singles.
Shelby LeCuru would move both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. The next batter, Campbell would bring home Sicht with a single to centerfield and advancing Wierschem to third. Hatton would then ground out to the pitcher scoring Wierschem and make the score 6-5 Lady Eagles with the lead.
Both teams would add a run in the sixth, making the score 7-6 WBC heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Owls would tie the game up, on back-to-back doubles by
Brailee Schulte and Sicht, which forced extra innings between the two teams'.
Both teams' went scoreless in their half of the eighth inning, but then, in the top of the ninth, Catie Burleson, led off with a solo homerun to make the score 8-7.
The Owls would answer again in their half of the ninth, as Sicht hit a one out single followed by a walk to Wierschem. LeCuru then laced a double down the right field line scoring Sicht to tie the game up at 8-8. Then, on a 3-2 pitch to Campbell, she hit a walk-off RBI single to right field, scoring Wierschem from third, to give the Owls the 9-8 victory in nine innings.
Bre Logan earned her seventh win on the season, as she came on in relief, pitching two innings, while giving up one earned run, on one hit, and striking out three.
Allison Waskow was the starter for William Woods as she pitched seven innings, giving up 12 hits, seven runs (two earned runs), striking out six, and walking two.
Mallory McWhorter was hit with the loss as she came in in relief, as she pitched 1.1 innings and gave up two runs, all earned, and three hits, while walking two and recording zero strikeouts.
William Woods University 3 Williams Baptist College 7The Owls would strike first again in game two, as Scharnhorst and Murphy hit back-to-back two-out doubles to make the score 1-0 WWU.
WBC would score two runs in the second and four runs in the third highlighted by back-to-back homeruns by Callie Brooks, three-run homerun, and Cindy Nippe's solo shot, to make the score 6-1.
The score would remain 6-1 until the bottom of the fifth, as Campbell scored on a RBI groundout by Scharnhorst to make the score 6-2.
The Owls would get another run in the bottom of the sixth, as Wierschem and
Alexi Cavins hit two out singles.
Brittany Bexten, pinch-running for Wierschem, would score on a RBI single by LeCuru to cut the deficit to 6-3.
The Lady Eagles would round out the scoring in the top of the seventh, as Cindy Nippe laid down a squeeze bunt, with bases loaded, scoring Brianna Hindman and giving Williams Baptist College the 7-3 victory.
Bre Logan got the loss, as she pitched all seven innings, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits, while striking out two.
Krysten Marr earned the win for Williams Baptist, as she pitched seven innings giving up three runs, two earned, and striking out one.
The Owls will be back in action on Saturday, April 11
th, as they will host the Lyon College Scots for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Backer Sports Complex.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from Backer Sports Complex.
