LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - Freshman Sammy Lohnes led William Woods University's (3-3) offense Thursday, going 3-8 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI, as the Owls dropped their doubleheader to the University of Saint Mary (2-0), falling 4-2 in Game 1 and 6-4 in Game 2 at USM Softball Complex. The series was pushed ahead two days due to the forecasted weather for Saturday.

"We got beat in all facets of the game today," William Woods softball coach Tracy Gastineau said. "We didn't take care of the ball on defense and had bad pitch selection at the plate. When you do that, you are going to have trouble winning ball games. Hopefully, we are able to learn from our mental and physical mistakes and make adjustments in the future."

In Game 1, WWU scored one run in the top of the third and one in the sixth, having five hits, three walks and one HBP while committing three errors. USM plated one run in the first and second and two in the fourth, notching six hits, three walks and one HBP while making one error.

After coming back from an early lead in one of their wins last weekend, the Owls failed to do that against the Spires. USM used baserunning and capitalized on a WWU fielding miscue to put up two straight one spots in its first two frames at the plate. With runners on second and third and two outs in the first, the Spires took the lead for good when they stole home in the same at-bat USM struck out for the final out of the inning. Then, in the second, the Spires took advantage of their leadoff double, with an Owls error the following batter, plating that USM hitter and increasing the host's lead to 2-0 through two innings.

Rylee Hagens cut it to a one-run game for The Woods, bringing Brooklynn Spillman home on her one-out groundout to the shortstop in the third. The Owls drove in their final run on one of their two extra-base hits as Ella Aguiar, who had a team-high two hits, made it back-to-back doubles to begin the sixth, roping the ball down the right-field line to send home Lohnes, who placed her inning-opening two-bagger to left-center field.

William Woods recorded its two stolen bases on the day in Game 1, with Corynne Miller and Spillman each swiping a bag.

American Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Week Taylor Baumhoer (2-1) was tagged with the first defeat of her college career. Despite that, Baumhoer threw all six innings, punched out a season-high nine batters on a season-low 89 pitches and allowed two earned runs. 

In Game 2, the Owls picked it up at the dish and improved their fielding. WWU scored two runs in the third and seventh innings while registering seven hits, three walks and three errors. USM tallied three runs in the first and one in the second, fifth and sixth while posting nine hits, four errors, three HBPs and two walks. 

Like in Game 1, the Owls dug themselves into a hole early in Game 2, letting the Spires take a 4-0 lead after two innings. William Woods cut its deficit in half in the top of the third thanks to Lohnes' two-RBI double to center field, with the sun getting in the eyes of the Spires' center fielder and the ball going off her glove and to the wall as Miller scored from second base and Jessica Keilholz from first.

Saint Mary regained a four-run (6-2) advantage in the sixth, then the Owls put up a comeback with two outs and runners on first and second. WWU made it a three-run deficit when Keilholz advanced home from third as Addie Rhea reached first on an error by the shortstop. Making it back-to-back scoring plays, Sara Foster brought home Lohnes on her base hit to the shortstop, which reduced the Owls' deficit to 6-4. Unfortunately for WWU, the rally stopped, grounding into a 1-3 for the final out with Owls on first and second.

Two-time first-team All-AMC honoree Keilholz guided William Woods' bats, going 2-3 with two singles, two runs and a walk at the two-hole.

Sarah Randermann (1-2) went the distance for the Owls, giving up four earned runs while striking out four and forcing eight groundouts on 94 pitches in six innings.

William Woods travels to Kansas for another doubleheader, taking on Ottawa University (3-1) on Feb. 15 at Dick Peter Sports Complex in Ottawa. The first pitch for Game 1 is 1 p.m., and Game 2 is 3 p.m.
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