ST. LOUIS, Mo.- In their third AMC series of the year, William Woods University (11-9, 5-5 AMC) traveled to HBCU Harris-Stowe State University (3-10, 1-7 AMC) in downtown St. Louis for their four-game set at historic Stars Park. Woods leads the all-time series 51-25, being the winner of the last 10 contests between the two schools.
"The guys did a good job fighting all day. Our hitters did a good job generating offense while making in-game adjustments at the plate." said coach Cavness. "The bullpen did a great job shutting the door, especially in game one from Carson Prescott and Gavin Allen in game two; his first collegiate outing."
The Owls jumped on the board in the first inning of game one, earning three baserunners in the first three hitters of the frame. Sophomore standout Kaden Kinsler singled with runners on first and second to score leadoff hitter Ryan Retone from second base. Woods tacked on another run in the top of the fourth inning when Camron Casso, a freshman from Troy, Mo., hit a sacrifice fly into deep right field scoring Cade Irwin.
The Owls gave up the lead in the bottom of the third inning as the Hornets tallied three runs in the frame to set the score at 3-2 in favor of Harris-Stowe.
The Woods quickly responded by matching the three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Kinsler singled with one out in the frame to set up the Owls offense. In a 3-0 count, Woods designated hitter, Jacob McWhirter, belted his third longball of the season bringing in two runs for the Owls. Following the blast, Cade Irwin singled into right field. Irwin, a senior utility man from The Colony, Texas, advanced to third during the next at bat. Irwin was brought home on a deep sacrifice fly of the bat of Jackson Kirn, carrying the Owls' lead to 5-3.
Harris-Stowe was able to scratch another run in the sixth inning. Woods scraped together two more runs in the top of the seventh inning on a double that was laced down the left field foul line by Brendan Rochelle. On the mound The Woods racked in 13 strikeouts in the seven-inning contest, scattering six hits. Peyton Clampitt is credited with the win in the Owls 7-4 victory, while Carson Prescott earned the save.
Game two carried on the high-scoring tradition started by game one, as the Owls won 9-8 in extra innings. Facing a 6-1 deficit going into the fifth inning, Woods had to get something going offensively to keep up with the Hornets. Justin Dameron, Camron Casso, and Ryan Retone were able to set things up for John Cavness' bunch, loading the bases with one out in the inning. On a 1-1 count with the bases juiced, Colby Caton launched a ball deep into the afternoon sky for a grand slam. Doing things a little bit differently, Kaden Kinsler hit an inside the park homerun in the next at bat plating the fifth run for the Owls in the frame and tying the game at six.
Harris-Stowe retook the lead in the sixth inning, scoring two runs to tip the scale in their favor. William Woods was able to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning to force extra innings.
With runners on first and second, and one out, Ryan Retone hit into a fielder's choice that cemented the Owls win at 9-8. Gavin Allen slammed the door for the Owls, and earning the win, striking out six hitters in two and two-thirds innings of work.
Woods is back in action tomorrow to finish their four-game series with the Hornets. First pitch is at noon, in St. Louis.
