SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The (RV) William Woods University baseball team who earned the No. 3 seed, will kick off its trek in the 2015 American Midwest Conference championship on Thursday afternoon, as the Owls will face No. 6 seed Lindenwood-Belleville University in the opening round of the AMC Tournament. The first pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.
 
The Owls (35-10; 19-7 AMC), ended up the 2015 regular season on a high note, winning 10 of its last 11 games which two of those wins came last weekend over (RV) Missouri Baptist University to secure the team the tournament's No. 3 seed.
 
In game on against MBU, after the Spartans jumped out to an early lead in the first two innings, the Owls offensive came alive to total six hits, while that was all closer, James Ball needed to secure the one run victory for WWU. Cody Stewart led the way going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Dustin Kremer, Austin Clapp, and Javier Ledesma added the other hits.
 
In game two, offensively, the Owls totaled six hits again, with Stewart, Kremer, Clapp, Kohler, Ledesma and Grant Garrett, each having one, while Ryan Yuengel was able to pick up the win, as in his 2.2 innings, he allowed one run on zero hits and struck out four Spartans. The series concluded on Saturday, with the Owls taking two-of-three, as MBU won the final game thanks to the perfect game performance from MBU starter, David Mullins.
 
Lindenwood-Belleville closed the regular season with an overall record of 25-25 and had an AMC record of 14-13, as the team dropped two-of-three from Benedictine University at Springfield to collect the No. 6 seed in the postseason tournament.
 
Earlier this season when the two teams met up, back on April 3^rd and 4^th, the Owls fell 2-1 in the first game but were able to bounce back and collect the doubleheader sweep to win the series against the Lynxs.
 
In the three game weekend series, which was seen as a pitching and defense dual, WWU escaped taking two games by outscoring LU 7-4. Kremer paced the Owls on the weekend going 5-for-11 at the plate, while Ledesma chipped in four hits.
 
Closing pitcher, James Ball had the Lynxs number, as the senior recorded a save and win on the weekend, posting 5.4 scoreless innings, not allowing one hit, and striking out seven batters.
 
On the season, offensively, the Owls are hitting a .304 as a team, which is good enough for fourth place in the AMC. The senior duo of Stewart and Nick Spagnola are leading the way for WWU, as both lead the team in several categories.
 
Stewart, the Temecula, California native has came on hot is the last weeks of play for the Owls, as the centerfielder is the top hitter posting a .370 batting average on the year, collecting a team-high triples (three), RBI's (42) slugging percentage (.507) and on base percentage (.461).
 
Spagnola, the Owls right fielder, is right behind Stewart with a season average of .367 from the plate, while leading the team with 62 hits and 18 stolen bases.
 
On the mound, where the team has had huge success from all season long includes starter John Cavness, who is having a break out year, totaling six wins on the season with just one loss in 12 appearances. He has earned an ERA of 2.55, while only giving up 17 earned runs and striking out 49 batters in 60.0 innings of work. Ball, the Owls call for relief, leads the staff with a 1.95 ERA, recording eight wins with only one loss and eight saves on the season. The Hillsboro, Missouri native, also leads the staff with 71 strikeouts. The Bullpen for William Woods has an ERA of 2.46 as a staff, which is the third best in the nation, while also holding opponents to a .214 batting average, being good enough for fifth in the nation.
 
Lindenwood-Belleville offense has been paced all season long by Christian Cavaness, who leads the team in several categories which includes a .394 batting average, hits (61), triples (10), homeruns (11), RBI's (46) and stolen bases (21). On the mound Mike Sabatino leads the staff with an ERA of 4.41 and 47 strikeouts on the season.
 
Fans click here for the entire 2015 AMC Tournament bracket and schedule. Also, if fans are wanting to listen to this match up in the opening round, you can do so by clicking here
 
Fans check back on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score from Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois of the Owls first game in the 2015 AMC Tournament.

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