ST. LOUIS - The Owls of William Woods University (19-14, 9-3 American Midwest Conference) stung the Hornets of Harris-Stowe State University (1-29, 0-14), needing just 10 innings to secure the series sweep Saturday at Stars Park Softball Field. The Owls swarmed the basepaths, winning 20-0 in Game 1 and 12-0 in Game 2 - both contests lasted five innings.
In Game 1, William Wood plated 20 runs on 11 hits and played a flawless game in the field, while Harris-Stowe had no runs on one hit and made three errors.
The Owls did most of their damage in the first two innings, scoring 16 runs between them.
Addie Rhea sent home WWU's first run with her single to left field, which scored
Lexi Lewis.Â
Using plate discipline, WWU's
Corynne Miller,
Ella Aguiar - the first of her game-high four runs - and Rhea scored on bases-loaded walks.
Sammy Lohnes, who was issued the first of those three straight run-scoring free passes, advanced home for the Owls' fifth run of the first inning on
Faith Karr's sacrifice fly to right field. Then,
Emmy Blevins, the second RBI walk earner, scored Woods' sixth and final run of the first as leadoff hitter Lewis singled to right.
Not letting up, the Owls put up a 10-spot in the second inning. Getting it started, Blevins drove in Aguiar for the second of her game-high four RBI on her sacrifice fly to left-center field. WWU plated its subsequent four runs on RBI base hits from the bats of Karr,
Morgan Collins,
Perri Dimmitt - the first career RBI for the freshman from Monroe City - and Miller. The Woods's final five runs of the second were from bases-loaded walks or an HBP: Collins scored on Aguiar's walk, Dimmitt on
Taylor Lorenz's walk, Miller on
Haley Bibby's HBP, Aguiar on Blevins's walk and Lorenz on Karr's walk.
Continuing to put runs across in Little League Softball type ways, the Owls' Miller scored on Bibby's bases-loaded walk, Blevins brought Aguiar home on her single down the left-field line and Lorenz advanced home when
Callie Zarcone reached on an error by the shortstop in the third inning.
Lorenz capped Woods's 20-run display in the fourth inning, scoring Dimmitt on her base hit to left field.
Showing how much the Owls' plate discipline provided more runs than hitting in Game 1, they had three more walks than hits with 14 free passes. And, Aguiar's two hits were the game-high while neither team had an extra-base hit.
Hailey Robinson (1-0), a redshirt junior from Caldwell, Idaho, picked up her first win on the year. Tossing the final three innings in relief of starter
Jessica Keilholz, Robinson struck out three and gave up no runs on no hits and one walk.
William Woods rattled its bats to a greater extent in Game 2, scoring 12 runs on 13 hits and committing two errors. Harris-Stowe had no runs on three hits and made five errors.
Miller, who recorded a game-high three runs, scored the Owls' first run on
Sara Foster's RBI single to right field in the top of the first. WWU tacked on seven more runs in the first inning: Collins scored on
Jaden Swift's sacrifice fly to left, Foster when Bibby reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, Zarcone on Karr's bases-loaded HBP, Bibby and Blevins on Miller's two-RBI two-bagger to left and Miller and Karr on Collins's two-RBI base hit to right center.
The Hornets were able to keep the Owls' baserunners at bay from the second to fourth inning, but that changed in the fifth when WWU plated four in its final frame at the plate.
To get those runs, William Woods's Foster drove in Karr on her single to left field, Swift plated Miller on her base hit to right center, Collins scored when Zarcone reached on an error by the left fielder and Foster made it home on the last of Blevins's game-high four hits, a single to left.
In Game 2, the Owls registered the only extra-base hits of the series, a double apiece from Miller and Foster.
Keilholz (3-1) took the circle for her second start on the day, and she earned the win. The Linn alumna threw four shutout innings while punching out six, allowing no walks and three hits.
William Woods wraps up its weekend road trip in St. Louis, facing the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis (10-20, 3-11 AMC) Sunday at Affton Athletic Association. First pitch of the doubleheader will be at 1 p.m.
