FULTON, Mo. – After a midweek non-conference contest, the William Woods University baseball team returns to American Midwest Conference (AMC) action when they open a three game set on Friday, March 25th against No. 17 Freed-Hardeman University.
 
Friday is set for a single nine-inning game starting at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday starting at 12 p.m.
 
The Owls (15-12, 3-6 AMC) defeated Culver-Stockton College, 23-10, on Wednesday night in non-conference action. William Woods came out swinging in the contest as they collected 22 hits in the contest. The 23 runs, 22 hits 19 RBIs were a season high for the Owls.

On the season the Owls are batting .318 on the season, collecting 252 hits, with 57 extra base hits. WWU has scored 175 runs this season. The Owls have outscored opponents 34-5 in the fourth inning this season. Ryan Phillips leads the team with a .500 (16-for-52) batting average on the season. Nolan Aherin and Patrick Dillon follow hitting .405 and .396 respectfully. Jordan Dey leds the team with 26 RBI and 13 doubles on the season.
 
On the mound, the Owls are led by a trio of pitchers. Jacob Guilianelli holds an ERA of 2.01 on the season with Caleb Bounds right behind with an ERA 2.95. Guilianelli has appeared in five games making four starts, while Bounds as appeared in ten games making 1 start. Ryan Phillips follows with an ERA of 3.18 on the season and is tied for the team lead in with John Cavness with four.
 
As a pitching staff, the Owls have a team ERA of 5.58 and are holding opponents to a batting average of .278 on the season. William Woods has four players with a 3.00 ERA or lower this season.
 
The Lions of Freed-Hardeman University enter this AMC series with a record of 22-7 and are 7-2 in AMC games this season. In the latest edition of the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, Freed-Hardeman came in at No. 17 in the nation.
 
On the season, Garrett Ferguson leads the team with a batting average of .360 as he has 32 hits in 89 at-bats this season. He has nine doubles and six homeruns on the season. Right behind Ferguson is JC Daily, who is hitting .341 on the season with seven doubles, one triple and two home runs. Houston Looser leads the team with 30 RBI on the season.
 
On the mound for Freed-Hardeman, the Lions hold a team ERA of 3.06 and are allowing opponents to hit .243 on the season. Leading the way for the Lions is starter Brandon Guske. Guske has appeared in nine games making eight starts, throwing five complete games, including two shutouts, this season. Guske has a record of 5-2 on the season and an ERA of 1.44. Leading the team in wins is Beau Caviness, who is 6-1 on the season with an ERA of 2.08. The Lions have six pitchers with an ERA of 3.00 or lower on the season.

The Lions have outscored its opponents 233 to 98 on the season.
 
Last season the Owls took a two game set against Freed-Hardeman, which was played at Harris-Stowe State University. On March 12th the Owls took a doubleheader against the Lions, 5-2 and 3-2 were the finals.

Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com Friday and Saturday night for a full recap and scores of the game.