SAUGET, Ill. – The William Woods University baseball team opened American Midwest Conference play on Friday afternoon and they came way with a doubleheader sweep of Lindenwood University-Belleville.
 
WWU recorded two shutouts on the day as they won game one, 2-0, before closing out the day with a 3-0 victory.
 
The Owls return to action on Sunday, February 25 when they close out the three-game set with Lindenwood-Belleville. The Owls and Lynx will meet for a nine-inning contest starting at 4 p.m.
 
Game One
Game Flow
The Owls and the Lynx had one hit a piece and had runners in scoring position in the first inning but neither team could get a run across the plate. The second inning was scoreless as well for both teams going three up, three down.
 
It was not until the top of the third when the Owls were able to push a run across the plate after Brian Granton hit a single and advanced to second on a steal. Tyler Cunningham hit a single and scored Granton putting the Owls ahead 1-0.
 
The Owls were able to keep the Lynx from scoring after a threatening double by Ian Rodriguez and a stolen base, placing him on third base with two outs. Kellen Murray was walked. Owls starter Taran Oulton did not let the Lynx get a run across the plate as he got Matt Crook to line out to center field.
 
In the top of the fourth, Tyler Bracht hit a single to center and Frankie Valle reached on a Lynx error. With Owls on first and second, an executed sacrifice bunt by Zach Smith would put the Owls on second and third. Patrick Dillon grounded out that scored Tyler Bracht putting the Owls ahead 2-0.
 
The Lynx would then be shutout in the bottom of the fourth after three of their four batters struck out swinging against Oulton. The bottom of the fifth would cause issues for the Owls after a single by Eric Hansen and an Owls error would place him on third and teammate Kellen Murray on first. Matt Crook was struck out by Oulton ending the threat.
 
The Owls would not be able to get the bats rolling again and their defense kept the Lynx at bay. In the sixth inning, Lindenwood-Belleville had runners on second and third before Oulton got the Lynx to hit into a double play. CJ Norman flied out and Reid Spencer was out returning to second base. After a walk loaded the bases, Oulton struck out Eric Hansen ending the inning.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Jeremy Hidalgo relieved Oulton and set the Lynx down in order. WWU came away with a 2-0 win over the Lynx. Oulton picked up the win for the Owls and Hidalgo picked up the save.
 
By the Numbers
8 – Taran Oulton struck out eight in the game
4 – WWU collected four hits
2 – William Woods scored the only two runs in the game
0 – Taran Oulton and Jeremy Hidalgo combined for a shutout
4 – The Owls had four different players collect
1 – Tyler Cunningham and Patrick Dillon collected one RBI in the game
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Taran Oulton, 6 IP, 5H, 0R (0ER), 6BBs, 8Ks
LU-B – Camron Shipley, 7IP, 4H, 2R (1ER), 1BBs, 5Ks
 
Game Two
Game Flow
The Lynx and Owls could not get anything going offensively in the second game of the double header as both teams combined for four hits over the first six innings of the contest. Owls starter, Ryan Furtney was locked in over the first six innings as he only allowed the Lynx one hit over those innings. He recorded four one, two, three innings over the first six.
 
In the top of the seventh, Marquise Doherty put the Owls on the board with a solo homerun. Doherty fell behind in the count, 0-2 before taking the third pitch of the at-bat over the left center field fence.  
 
The Owls came back and extended its lead in its next at-bats of the contest. Brian Granton singled to put the Owls on the base path. Glen DesBouillons also hit a single and Owls found themselves in scoring position. Tyler Cunningham and his patience loaded the bases for the Owls as he reached on a walk. Nolan Aherin hit a sacrifice fly to score Granton. WWU extended its lead to 3-0 when Glen DesBouillons scored on a stolen base.
 
The Lynx got one more batter on the base paths over the eighth and ninth inning. After Furtney got Aaron Fuller to line out, he hit Eric Hansen. The next batter, Hunter Draffen, lined into a double play as Frankie Valle recorded the first out and threw to first double off Darius Ford, who was running for Hansen.
 
With a 3-0 lead, WWU needed three outs to record its second shutout of the day. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Furtney got Ian Rodriguez to fly out to center, for the first out of the inning. Kellan Murray was the second out for the Lynx when he flied out to left. Needing one more out for the complete game shutout, Furtney got Matt Crook to ground out to short and the Owls came away with a 3-0 victory.
 
By the Numbers
8 – Ryan Furtney struck out eight in the contest
2 – Furtney only allowed the Lynx two hits in the contest
7 – The Owls collected seven hits in the game
1 – Marquise Doherty hit one home run in the contest
0 – WWU recorded its second shutout of the day
2 – Brian Granton and Doherty led the Owls with two hits in the contest
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Ryan Furtney, 9 IP, 2H, 0R (0ER), 1BBs, 8Ks
LU-B – Dylan Chisholm, 7 IP, 4H, 1R (1ER), 1BBs, 5Ks