Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CANTON, Mo. - Jacob McWhirter picked up in game three where he left off in game two, scoring three runs and going 3-4 at the plate with an RBI, but William Woods (10-8-1) couldn't leverage the offense into a win, dropping an 8-7 result in the first game of the doubleheader and settling for a 6-6 tie with Culver-Stockton (3-12-1) as darkness settled in.
After drawing a leadoff walk,
Jack Niggemeier made the most of a pair of miscues by Culver-Stockton's Noble Oxford. The center fielder wasn't able to field
Colby Caton's single cleanly, then rushed his throw home trying to get Niggemeier out.
Woods was unable to add to its lead in the first, but a triple by
Taylor Hopkins tripled WWU's lead to 3-0 in the second.
After a sacrifice fly scored
Kaden Kinsler in the top of the fourth, McWhirter cranked a solo shot down the right-field line to give WWU a 5-0 lead.
The Wildcats responded in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run homer by Jaison Andujar, with Andujar scoring a run for C-SC in the bottom of the sixth after drawing a walk.
WWU tried to find an insurance run in the top of the seventh, but despite a pinch-hit single by
Joe Celeste, the Owls stranded him and weren't able to hold off Culver-Stockton in the bottom of the frame, allowing the Wildcats to send the game to extra innings tied 5-5.
McWhirter scored again for the Owls in the top of the eighth, racing home from first as Oxford was unable to handle Hopkins's shot to center, but Woods wasn't able to add an insurance run as Hopkins was caught stealing.
After giving up a leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth, the Owls managed to escape and extend. WWU stranded three Culver-Stockton runners, allowing
Matt Hanson to score Niggemeier with an RBI single in the top of the ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth, WWU's normally solid defense faltered a bit, as the Owls were charged with a pair of errors in the frame. The Wildcats took advantage of both, with Tristan Meny reaching base on a fielding error and Eli Friend taking over as a pinch runner and scoring on a throwing error in the infield. With runners on first and second, Oxford was able to atone for his earlier miscues, claiming the win with an RBI single to left center.
Culver-Stockton opened the scoring in bottom of the first, scratching across a run, but Woods would respond with three straight two-run innings, taking a 6-2 lead to the bottom of the fourth.
The Wildcats were able to nip two runs back in the bottom of the fourth, then with the light fading in Canton, Culver-Stockton tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the sixth before the game was called to an early end.
Woods continues its road swing next weekend, heading to Point Lookout, Mo., to take on College of the Ozarks. First pitch in the four-game series is set for 1 p.m. on Friday, March 8th.
