Box Score FULTON, Mo. - After a pair of relatively low-scoring games to open the series, William Woods (12-14-1, 1-2 AMC) and Central Baptist (17-7, 2-1 AMC) combined to score 23 runs on 33 hits, but Woods came up on the short end, dropping the series finale 13-10.
Matt Hanson scored four runs for Woods, going 3-4 with a walk.
Central Baptist threatened in the top of the first, leading off with a walk and a single then following a strikeout with another walk, but Woods was able to escape the jam with an strikeout and easy pop up to first.
After retiring its first two batters, WWU posted a two-out rally, with Hanson reaching on an error by second baseman Ryan Dauphinee. After a pair of wild pitches - including one on a ball four to
Kamron Morriss - put Hanson at third, a gutsy double steal initiated by courtesy runner
Nolan Riechers gave the Owls a 1-0 lead.
CBC loaded the bases again in the second, but Woods again stranded all three runners and settled into a defensive groove, keeping the basepaths clean and hanging zeros in the third and fourth innings.
Woods added a pair of runs to its lead in the bottom of the fourth, as Hanson led off with a single and stole second. Morriss reached on an error by CBC starter Dylan Parton, with Riechers stealing second as a courtesy runner to put runners in scoring position for WWU.
Cade Irwin posted a single to score Hanson and Riechers, chasing Parton from the game as well, but Austin LeJeune was able to get the Mustangs out of danger.
Central Baptist was able to manufacture a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, but Woods answered in the bottom of the frame, with a Hanson triple scoring
Tyler Horton before Morriss plated Hanson.
The Mustangs pushed four runs across in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead, and although WWU managed to tie the game at 6-6 in the bottom half of the frame, CBC posted a four-run seventh and a three-run eighth to take a 13-8 lead after eight innings.
Jackson Truesdell shut the CBC offense down in the ninth, retiring the side in order to give Woods a chance to mount a comeback. After Irwin singled to lead off the inning, a strikeout and popup to second left the Owls with one out to scratch five runs across.
Kaden Kinsler gave the WWU fans a glimmer of hope with a two-run shot, but Horton wasn't able to keep the rally going.
The Owls are on the road for a midweek game, the first of a home-and-home series against University of Saint Mary. First pitch in Leavenworth, Kan., is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday.
