FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University softball team split its American Midwest Conference games with Park University on Thursday afternoon in the AMC Game of the Week. The Owls took game one, 7-2, before dropping game two, 8-7.
 
The Owls will open the AMC Tournament against Central Baptist College at 12 p.m. The games will be played at Antimi Softball Complex. Stay tuned to wwuowls.com for more information on the upcoming conference tournament.
 
Game One
Game Flow
The Owls and the Pirates both had a slow start in game one when neither team scored until WWU took the lead in the bottom of the third. Bri Devellano reached on a walk and moved to second on a second by Lindy Wilson. With two outs, Devellano scored on a single by Emma Walker putting the Owls ahead 1-0.
 
The Pirates answered back in the top of the fourth when they capitalized on Owl errors. In the frame, The Pirates had the bases loaded and Annali Cleek was hit by a pitch scoring the first run for the Pirates. Olivia Atkinson reached on a walk that scored the second run for the Pirates putting Park ahead, 2-1.
 
The Owls tied it back up in the bottom of the fourth. Alli Massey reached on a second and went to second on a Park error. Amanda Bouchey reached on another Pirate error and Massey moved to third base. Massey scored on a fielder's choice and the Owls and Pirates were tied at 2-2.
 
The game remained tied until the bottom of the sixth when the Owls bats exploded. Amanda Bouchey got the Owls started by reaching on an error. After the runner advanced to third, Madison Ausfahl singled scoring one. With runners on the corners, Emma Walker singled scoring the second run of the inning for the Owls. Emily Robinett followed with a single scoring another. Massey plated two with a double and after the sixth inning, the Owls lead 7-2.
 
Ausfahl came out looking for three outs to give the Owls the win. She retired Lexie Duncan on a fly out to start the inning. After a walk and a single, the Pirates had two runners on. However, Ausfahl got the next two to fly out to left field ending the game and the owls came away with a 7-2 victory.
 
By the Numbers
7 – The Owls scored seven runs in game two of the doubleheader
3 – Emma Walker led the Owls with three hits in game one
9 – WWU had nine hits as a team in game one
6 – Six different Owls collected a hit
2 – Emma Walker and Alli Massey drove in two runs each
2 – Bri Devellano drew the only two walks of the day for the Owls
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Bre Logan, 3 IP, 2H, 2R (2ER), 2BBs, 2Ks
Park – Shelby Bendure, 5.2 IP, 9H, 7R (1ER), 1BBs, 2Ks
 
Game Two
Game Flow
Game two started off slow until the bottom of the second when the Owls scored four runs. With runners on first and second and two outs, Ari Arnold hit a triple to right center scoring two. Emma Walker followed with a single up the middle scoring Arnold putting the Owls ahead 3-0. Emily Robinett singled to right field which scored Walker and the Owls lead 4-0 after two innings.
 
The Pirates tied it up in the tip of the third when they scored four runs, 4-4. After an RBI single by Madison Klein, Katie Carr hit a two-run home run putting the Pirates down a run. Later in the inning, Courtney Seymour reached on a walk, which scored Hailey Costello tying the game at 4-4.
 
The Pirates scored again in the top of the fourth taking its first lead of the game. With a runner on second base, Shelby Bendure doubled down the left field line that scored Klein putting the Pirates ahead, 5-4.
 
The game remained 5-4 until the top of the seventh inning. In the frame, Castello led off with a double. After two straight outs, Seymore reached on a walk putting runners on the corners. Kaylin Brooks hit a ground ball to which the Owls could not get an out and it scored one, putting the Pirates ahead, 6-4. Klien came up big again for the Pirates with a double that scored two. Park led 8-4 going to the Owls final at-bats.
 
Coming up to its final at-bats, the owls first hitter was retired. Celeste Sermeno singled to get the Owls started. After another out, Lindy Wilson reached on an error. Bri Devellano came up and hit a three-run home run putting the Owls down one, 8-7.  However, that would be as close as the Owls would get as they dropped game two, 8-7.
 
By the Numbers
10 – The Owls had ten hits in game two
3 – Bri Devellano hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning
6 – The Owls pitching staff combined for six strikeouts
2 – Emma Walker and Alli Massey led the Owls with two hits each in the game
8 – Eight different Owls had a hit in game two
4 – Four different Owls drove in a run-in game two
2 – The Owls had two extra base hits
 
Starting Pitcher Lines
WWU – Allison Waskow, 2.2 IP, 5H, 4R (3ER), 1BBs, 2Ks
Park – Lexie Duncan, 7 IP, 10H, 7R (7ER), 4BBs, 6Ks