SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The No. 3 seeded William Woods University baseball team plated five runs in the ninth inning to help capture the 10-3 victory against the No. 6 seeded Lindenwood-Belleville University in the first round of the AMC Tournament on Thursday evening.
After a slow start offensively, the Owls (36-10; 18-7 AMC) collected eight runs in the last four innings to guide WWU over the Lynxs advancing them to the second round of the tournament tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. against the winner of No. 2 seed Lyon College and No. 7 seed Hannibal-LaGrange University.
LU got on the board first after scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning on three hits and then extended its lead to 3-0 after recording one more run in the third inning.
Lindenwood-Belleville starting pitcher, Dylan Skinner had the answer for the red hot offense of William Woods for five innings, until the Owls broke out its bats in the top of the fifth.
Stephen Kohler led off the inning with a single, then was advanced to second base after a sacrifice bunt from
Javier Ledesma, putting the first runner in scoring position for WWU. A balk from skinner, moved Kohler 90 feet away from scoring, which occurred the next pitch as
Jordan Dey reached on a Lynxs error, scoring Kohler and making the score 3-1.
Later in the inning,
Grant Garrett reached base after getting hit and
Patrick Dillion entered the game to pinch run for Garrett,
Larry Price would draw a walk, to load the bases for the Owls second hole hitter,
Nick Spagnola. The senior recorded his 18
th RBI on the season by reaching first base on a fielder's choice and scoring the team's second running, getting within one of LU.
Cody Stewart would then come to the plate, looking to grab its 43
rd RBI and he did just that with a single, to plate the tying run for the Owls, making the score 3-3.
Then in the seventh inning the Owls would add two more runs on the board on four hits, which would end Skinner's day on the mound for the Lynx. Stewart drove in his second RBI of the day, followed by an RBI off the bat
Dustin Kremer to give WWU its first lead of the game, 5-3.
The Owls offense had a huge ninth inning, plating five runs on four hits to post double-digit runs, giving them the momentum going into the bottom of the Lynxs last inning. The outburst started with the top of the Owls line-up, which loaded the bases right before Ledemsa crushed a double to clear the bases.
The five run rally gave relief pitcher
Caleb Bounds the five run lead before he took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he didnt allow a single run to cross the plate and went on to secure the 10-3 victory in the opening round of the AMC Tournament over Lindenwood-Belleville.
Owls starting pitcher,
John Cavness gave anther ace-like performance to help WWU advance to the next round of the Tournament. The lefty kept the Lynxs off balance, as he only gave up three runs on seven hits, while striking six batters out, through right inning of work.
Offensively, the Owls recorded 14 hits on the night, as Kohler paced the team going 3-for-5 from the plate, while five players added a pair of hits, which came from the bats of Price, Spagnola, Stewart, Ledemsa and
Austin Clapp. Ledesma plated a team-high three RBI's, while
Jordan Dey and Stewart added two RBI's.
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full recap and score from the second round of the AMC Tournament.
