FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University baseball team dropped the series finale to Park University on Friday afternoon. The Pirates came away with a 7-4 win over the Owls in the third and final game of the series.
 
The Owls won the series after taking the doubleheader yesterday. Zach Smith led the Owls offense on the day with three RBIs. Nolan Aherin picked up three hits in the contest. With the loss the Owls fall to 27-16 on the season and 15-9 in the AMC.
 
WWU returns to action on Tuesday, April 17th when they travel to Fayette, Missouri to face No. 24 Central Methodist University in a non-conference doubleheader. First-pitch is set for 5 p.m.
 
Game Flow
The Pirates jumped out in the top of the first inning scoring two runs. After a hit by pitch and a single, the Pirates pulled a double steal that scored on an Owls error. Later in the inning, Park scored its second run on a ground gout.
 
The Owls answered back in the bottom of the second inning. Tyler Cunningham hit a leadoff single and was sacrificed to second on a bunt. He later scored by a single by Zach Smith cutting the Pirates lead in half, 2-1.
 
In the top of the fourth, the Pirates would push another run across the plate when David Paffenroth hit a leadoff double. After the next two batters were retired he came into score on a wild pitch putting the Pirates ahead, 3-1.  
 
With the meat of the order coming up, Nolan Aherin hit a leadoff single and later stole second base. With two outs, Zach Smith came up clutch once again and drilled a homerun over the left field wall, driving in his second and third runs of the game and tying the game at 3-3.
 
The Pirates would come back in the top of the fifth and score two more runs after back to back singles and an Owl error. In the frame, Will Long had an RBI hit and another scored when the Owls committed an error and the Pirates took a 5-3 lead.
 
The Owls struggled putting runners on base the rest of the contest against the Pirates starter Ian Torres. The Pirates added an insurance run in the seventh and eighth inning stretching its lead to 7-3 over the
 
The Owls squeezed out one more run in the bottom of the eighth when Nolan Aherin came up with two outs and hit a single to keep the Owls offense alive. Cunningham hit a double and scored Aherin, putting the Owls down three, 7-4.
 
Park threatened to score in the top of the ninth, but the Owls kept them off the board and the Owls acme up for its final at-bats. The Owls were unable to manufacture any more runs in their last at bats and were defeated by the Pirates, 7-4.
 
By the Numbers
4 – The Owls scored four runs in the contest
7 – WWU had seven hits in the game
3 – Zach Smith drove in three runs for the Owls
3 – Nolan Aherin led the Owls with three hits
4 – The Owls pitching staff combined for four strikeouts
1 – Zach Smith hit one home run in the game
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Dany Paradis-Giroux, 6.2 IP, 6H, 6R (4ER), 1BBs, 2Ks
Park – Ian Torres, 9 IP, 7H, 4R (4ER), 1BBs, 10Ks