HENDERSON, Tenn. – The William Woods University baseball team split its American Midwest Conference doubleheader with Freed-Hardeman University on Friday afternoon. The Owls took game one, 4-2, in extra innings before dropping the night cap, 4-1, in the game two.
 
The Owls return to action on Tuesday, March 13th when they travel to Columbia, Missouri to face Columbia College for AMC action. First-pitch is set for 4 p.m.
 
Game One
Game Flow
Brian Granton led the Owls offense with a double down the left field line opening the contest, but it would get in the inning.
 
Freed-Hardeman came back and took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Bryce Lester led off with a single, and then stole second base. He went to third when Aden Campbell singled. Lester came into score on a single by Wes Brooks putting the Lions ahead, 1-0. Later in the inning, Kaimana Ancog hit a sacrifice fly taking a 2-0 lead.
 
The Owls offense stayed quiet until the top of the third inning when Granton singled in the inning. However, he was stranded on first base. Over the first three innings of play, Granton had the only hits for the Owls.
 
After the bottom of the first inning, Owls starter Ryan Furtney settled down and kept the Lions bats quiets. Over the next three innings, Furtney only allowed the Lions to get two hits and heading to the fifth inning of the contest, the Owls trailed 2-0.
 
In the top of the fifth inning, the Owls bats came to life. Frankie Valle led off with a single. After an out, Patrick Dillon singled putting runners on the corners. Dillon followed stealing second base and putting two runners in scoring position. The Owls loaded the bases after Josh Nicol drew a walk. Valle scored, and everyone moved up a base after a Landon Sewell wild pitch. Dillon came into score on a Granton ground out tying the game. After the top of the fifth the contest was tied at 2-2.
 
With one out, De'Mikyle Holmes was hit by a pitched. His stay was short on the bases as Furtney picked him off first for the second out of the inning. He followed getting Collin McPherson to fly out ending the inning.
 
Both teams would get a hit in the seventh inning but could not get a run across and the game would head to extra innings.
 
The Owls broke the tie in the top of the eighth inning when Granton collected his third hit of the game to get the Owls starter. Tyler Cunningham reached base after a Lion error and the Owls had two runners on with no outs. Marquise Doherty followed wit ha single scoring one and putting the Owls ahead 3-2. WWU scored one run on a squeeze bunt and WWU went ahead by 4-2.
 
Heading to the bottom of the eighth, Jeremy Hidalgo came in and retired the Lions in order closing out the out the game. WWU came away with a 4-2 win.
 
By the Numbers
4 – The Owls scored four runs to win game one
7 – WWU collected seven hits in the game
3 – Brian Granton led the Owls with three hits
1 – Granton, Marquise Doherty and Zach Smith recorded an RBI
2 – The Owls pitching staff combined for two strikeouts
1 – Jeremy Hidalgo pitched a perfect eighth inning picking up a save
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Ryan Furtney, 7 IP, 7H, 2R (2ER), 0BBs, 0Ks
FHU – Landon Sewell, 7 IP, 5H, 2R (2ER), 1BBs, 10Ks
 
Game Two
Game Flow
Neither team got anything going offensively over the first couple of innings of the second game of the doubleheader. Both teams went down in order in the first inning and WWU picked up its first hit in the second inning, but he was left stranded.
 
Freed-Hardeman looked to have a threat going in the bottom of the third. Joe Leatherwood drew a walk and advanced to third on a Bryce Lester hit. With one out and runners on the corners, Dany Paradis-Giroux got Aden Campbell to ground into an inning ending double play and the game remained scoreless.
 
With one hit apiece, the Owls and Lions starting pitchers continued to dominate and not let the offenses get going as Paradis-Giroux and Jared Humphry had one hitters through four innings of play.
 
The Lions got to Paradis-Giroux in the bottom of the fifth inning. Holes led off with a single and advanced to second on an Owls error. Freed-Hardeman loaded the bases after a hit by pitch. Paradis-Giroux recorded a strikeout before the Lions scored the first run on a wild pitch. Lester drove in two more on a double. That would all the Lions would get, and they led the Owls 3-0 heading to the top of the sixth.
 
In the sixth inning, the Owls Zach Smith led off with a walk. He advanced to second when Trevor Garriott reached on a fielders' choice. Granton followed reaching on a fielder's choice and Jordan Smith was tagged out, he was running for Zach Smith. Cunningham reached on a Lions error and Garriott came around to score the first run of the game for the Owls.
 
After an out, the Owls had two on with two outs, and Nolan Aherin reached on a walk to load the bases. However, the Owls left the bases loaded as Valle popped out in foul territory ending the Owls threat.
 
Freed-Hardeman got the run back in the bottom of the sixth inning when Griffin Siebert singled scoring one.
 
Heading to the final at-bats for the Owls, they needed three runs to keep the game alive. However, the Owls only got one hit in the inning, a double by Glen DesBouillons. WWU dropped game two, 4-1 to Freed-Hardeman.
 
By the Numbers
3 – WWU collected three hits in the contest
5 – The Owls left five runners on base
.125 – William Woods hit .125 in the second game of the year
2 – Frankie Valle led the Owls with two hits
2 – WWU drew two walks in the contest
7 – Dany Paradis-Giroux struck out seven in the gamae
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Dany Paradis-Giroux, 6 IP, 5H, 4R (3ER), 3BBs, 7Ks
FHU – Jared Humphry, 7 IP, 3H, 1R (0ER) 2BBs, 3Ks