FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University softball team dropped game one against American Midwest Conference (AMC) rival, Columbia College, 5-3 (8 innings), but the Owls had an offensive outburst in game two, winning 13-10 on Tuesday.

Columbia College 5 William Woods University 3
After a scoreless first two innings of play, it was the Owls (20-21; 9-7 AMC), getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, as Brailee Schulte singled to left and was able to advance to second base, after the Cougars leftfielder misplayed the groundball.
 
Cougars (21-16; 12-8 AMC) starter, Paxton Welch, retired the next WWU batter, but couldn't get Hannah Campbell, who singled, allowing Schulte to score and give WWU a 1-0 lead.
 
In the top of the fourth, Columbia responded as Allyson Metz singled to leftfield, which scored Carly Spalding, who led the inning off with a single, to tie the game up at 1-1.
 
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the Owls were able to stretch its lead out to two runs, as Schulte again reached base on a one out single. After a Campbell single to right, putting runners on the corners, pinch-hitter Beth Begemann came to the dish and doubled to centerfield, scoring Schulte to push it to a 2-0 lead.
 
Kacey Scharnhorst added the inning's second RBI, as she reached base on Welch's bobble, which brought home Campbell and extended the Owls lead to 3-0.
 
The Cougars got one of those runs back in the top of sixth, as Spalding homered to centerfield, off freshman Bre Logan, to put the scoreboard at 3-2 Owls. In the top of the seventh, CC played spoiler of Logan's ninth win, as they scored one run on two hits, as Tylin Stephens single up the middle, scored Taylor Atwood, who reached base on a leadoff walk, to tie the game up at 3-3 and force extra innings.
 
In the top of the eighth, the Cougars took its first lead of the game, scoring two runs on two hits, as Julianna Waldner and Stephens tallied an RBI each, to make the score 5-3. In the bottom of the eighth, the Owls threatened, however, as Emily Murphy singled to left-center and was able to move over to third, after Caroline Sicht doubled.
 
With the tying run on second and game winner at the plate, with only one out, Welch was able to bare down and get the final two outs, however, ending the threat and the game, as CC held on by two.
 
Inside the circle, Logan took the tough loss, as she went 8.0 innings, allowing five runs (four earned), on eight hits and struck out eight. Offensively, WWU totaled nine hits and were led by Campbell, Murphy and Shelby LeCuru each going 2-for-3, while combining for three runs scored and one RBI.
 
Columbia, meanwhile, was led by Welch inside the circle, as she went 8.0 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on nine hits and struck out one.
 
William Woods University 13 Columbia College 10
Game two was a wild one, as both teams' combined for 23 runs on 32 hits and five errors. The Owls were able to scatter 13 runs on a season-high 17 hits, while the Cougars scored 10 runs on 15 hits.
 
After Columbia took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, on a Metz single, the Owls came right back in the bottom of the inning, as Scharnhorst got things with a double down the right field line. Murphy then hit an infield single, scoring Scharnhorst and tying the game at 1-1.
 
Sicht, an Ashland, Missouri, native, was next to the plate and she smashed the 2-2 offering from Amber Boehme over the wall, her team-high sixth of the year, to give the Owls a 3-1 lead after one inning of play.
 
Columbia added another run in the top of the second, to make it a 3-2 game, but again the Owls offense continued to roll, scoring its fourth run in the bottom of the second, as Hatton's single up the middle, scored LeCuru, who led the inning off with a walk, to make it 4-2.
 
In the top of the third, the Cougars got the momentum back on its side, scoring two runs on three hits, with both runs coming off a WWU error, to tie the game back up at 4-4.
 
That lead, however, was short-lived, as the in the home half of the third, the Owls exploded for five runs on four hits, with CC also committing two errors, to take a commanding 9-4 lead. The scoring continued into the fourth, as Atwood singled to left-center, scoring Waldner, who hit an infield single, to cut the lead down to 9-5.
 
But, like they have all game, the Owls got the run back in the bottom of the fourth, as Sam Parsons slugged her first collegiate home run, over the left-centerfield wall, on a 3-2 count, to give the team a five run lead back, at 10-5.
 
In the top of the fifth, Columbia answered with two runs of its own, as after Stephens reached base on an error to lead the inning off, consecutive doubles from Brittiany Tjarks and Samantha Davis, narrowed the Owls advantage down to 10-7.
 
In a rare occasion in the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth, neither team was able to plate a run, but that all changed in the home half of the sixth for WWU, as they scored three more runs on four hits, getting RBI from Murphy (2) and Sicht, to give the team a 13-7 lead.
 
The Cougars continued to fight in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits, but starter Allison Waskow was able to retire the final batter of the game, with a strikeout, to give the Owls a 13-10 victory.
 
WWU's offense was led by Sicht, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, three RBI and one home run. Scharnhorst went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI, while Campbell, Hatton, Murphy and Parsons added two hits each. Murphy also led the Owls with a game-high four RBI.
 
Waskow was able to pick up the win, as she went 7.0 innings, allowing five earned runs and struck out five batters.
 
The Cougars offense was led by Spalding, going 4-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI. Tjarks went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Stephens, Davis and Atwood added two hits as well.
 
The Owls will return to the diamond this Friday, on the road, as they pay a visit to Freed-Hardeman University, in yet another important AMC showdown. First-pitch will be thrown at 2 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com later this week for a full preview of the game against FHU.

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