FULTON, Mo. – A five-run second inning by the William Woods University baseball team helped the Owls soar over American Midwest Conference foe Park University, 8-0 on Monday evening.
The Owls (32-9; 17-6 AMC), out hit the Pirates 12-3, as William Woods top of the line up combined for seven of those 12 hits in the final game of the season series against Park University. The teams met up earlier this month, which ended in a 1-1 draw, that saw the Pirates take game one 4-1 but then the Owls bounced back taking game two 13-8 before capturing the series win with the 8-0 victory Tuesday evening.
It was all Owls from the start, as the team jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, after a lead off single from
Larry Price, followed by an infield single from
Nick Spagnola, putting runners on third and first for WWU. Then
Cody Stewart collected his 42
nd RBI with a groundout to the right side. Later in the inning, after Spagnola stole third base,
Austin Clapp singled up the middle and scored Spagnola, giving the Owls the 2-0 lead.
Javier Ledesma started the outburst for the Owls in the bottom of the second, as the WWU next batter,
Jordan Dey doubled to deep center, driving in Ledesma, while Price followed with a single putting runners on the corners. Spagnola knocked in the Owls second run with a single to shallow right field, while Stewart's second RBI of the game came with a single to left, making the score 4-0. An RBI from
Dustin Kremer's bat and a sacrifice fly from
Austin Clapp capped off the five-run frame, pushing the Owls advantage to 7-0 over PU.
The Owls offense surge was more than enough to support starting pitcher
Kyle Marburger, who collected the win on the day, setting a season-best in innings pitched by tossing 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up just two hits, while striking out five.
WWU was able to put on more run on the board, as Stewart nabbed his third RBI on the day, making the score 8-0 in the Owls favor, neither teams would get a run plated in the next two innings, securing the Owls the 8-0 game three victory over PU.
The trio of Price, Spagnola and Stewart collected seven hits, plated four RBI's and scored six runs in the win on Tuesday. Price was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate, while Stewart went 2-for-5 and tallied three RBI's.
Dey and Clapp were two other offensive impacts on the day, as Dey also amassed a pair of hits, while Clapp drove in two RBI's for WWU.
Park recorded three hits on the day, which came from the bats of Blake Sellers, Aaron Garcia and Kyle Hoover, while starting pitcher Just Eubanks suffered the loss.
The Owls return to action tomorrow, as the team host MidAmerica Nazerene University for a one nine-inning match up, with the first pitch set for 3:00p.m. out at Owls Field.
The Pioneers are currently 27-17 on the season and 13-9 in the Heart of America Athletic conference. They are coming off a split game series against Graceland University Tuesday afternoon, taking game one 10-1 before dropping game two 12-7.
MNU is hitting a .318 as a team, while Clayton Brandt is pacing the way with a .454 batting average. He is also leading the team in hits (69), doubles (15) home runs (five) and stolen bases (26). On the mound, Phillipe Graham has earned an ERA of 1.15 with a 5-1 record on the season, while giving up just six earned runs and striking out 56 batters.
"It was a great win today," said head coach
Darren Munns. "Marburger set the tone on the mound from the start and our offense had a couple crooked numbers early."
Fan check back tomorrow evening for a full recap of tomorrows action from Owls Field.
