SAUGET, Ill. – The William Woods University baseball team got back into the win column on Tuesday afternoon as they swept a non-conference doubleheader against Morthland College. The Owls took game one, 13-2, and won game two, 16-3.
 
With the wins the Owls improve to 15-18 on the season.
 
The Owls return to action on Friday, March 31st when they host Williams Baptist College in American Midwest Conference action. The Owls and Eagles will play a doubleheader Friday, starting at 2 p.m.
 
Game One
Game Flow
In a quiet first two innings, neither offenses could get anything going. However, the Owls bats woke up in the third inning. Jansen Smith led off the inning with a double. He scored on a Ryan Phillips single. Phillips came around to score on a Tyler Cunningham single putting the Owls ahead 2-0.
 
WWU's offense extended its lead in the top of the fourth inning. With a runner on second, Tyler Bracht drove home a run with a single down the left field line. Smith followed with a triple to left center scoring Bracht and putting WWU ahead, 4-0. The Owls added one more in the inning and would lead 5-0.
 
The Patriots of Morthland added two of its own runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Caleb Cirre and Christian Blankenship both recorded RBIs in the inning. After four innings of play the Owls led, 5-2.
 
William Woods offense continued to add to its lead as they scored two runs on three hits in the top of the fifth inning. Anthony Davison drove home one on a single and Bracht collected another RBI later in the inning.
 
WWU scored six more runs, three in the sixth and three in in the seventh innings growing its lead to 13-2 over Morthland. The Patriots had trouble getting anything going at the plate after they scored the two runs in the contest as the Owls relievers combined to hold Morthland to three hits in the remainder of the contest. WWU came away with a 13-2 victory.
 
By the Numbers
13 – WWU scored 13 runs in the contest
15 – The Owls had 15 hits as a team in game one
3 – Tyler Bracht and Ryan Phillips led the Owls with three hits each in game one
3 – William Woods hit three doubles in the first game
5- The Owls drew five walks at the plate
6 – The pitching staff for WWU struck out six hitters in the contest
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Dany Paradis-Giroux, 4 IP, 3H, 2R (1ER), 2BBs, 3Ks
Morthland – Tyler Daugherty, 5 IP, 11H, 7R (7ER), 2BBs, 2Ks
 
Game Two
Game Flow
WWU wasted little time getting the scoring going in the second game as they built an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Alex St. Pierre singled and he advanced to second on a wild pitch. He came into score on a single by Nolan Aherin.
 
William Woods added to its lead in the top of the third inning. With two runners on, Jansen Smith doubled to left center scoring two and putting the Owls ahead 3-0. Those two runs were the only runs the Owls would get in the inning and after three innings, WWU led 3-0.
 
The Owls continued to add to its lead and in the top of the fourth inning they added two more runs. The Owls score one run when St. Pierre grounded into a double play putting WWU ahead, 4-0. Drew May, who was 4-for-4 in game two, scored on a Nolan Aherin single.
 
The lead grew to 8-0 after the top of the fifth inning. With two runners on base, Neal Aherin doubled down the left field line scoring two. Neal Aherin came into score on a wild pitch and the Owls led, 8-0, after four and a half innings of play.
 
The Patriots scored its first run of game two in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jon Marc Girardeau hit a ground rule double which scored Caleb Cirre putting Morthland down 8-1.
 
William Woods made it to 10-1 in the top of the sixth inning as they scored two runs on two hits in the inning. Glen DesBouillons and Drew May both hit sacrifice flies in the inning to extend the Owls lead.
 
Morthland scored two more in the sixth inning trimming the Owls lead down to seven, 10-3, but the Owls bats scored six runs on seven hits in the top of the seventh inning to put the contest out of reach. Morthland only collected one hit off Owls reliever Ryan Hickman in the seventh inning and the Owls came away with a 16-3 victory in game two.
 
By the Numbers
16 – The Owls scored 16 runs in the second game of the doubleheader
19 – WWU collected 19 hits in game two
4 – Drew May led the Owls with four hits in the contest
5 – Neal Aherin drove in five runs in the contest
8 – Eight Owls had two or more hits in the contest
2 – Two WWU players had three or more RBIs in the contest
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Tristan Steffens, 2 IP, 1H, 0R (0ER), 1BBs, 1K
Morthland – Alex Brooks, 5 IP, 10H, 8R (7ER), 3BBs, 6Ks