PARAGOULD, Ark.- In their first ever matchup, William Woods University sweeps Crowley's Ridge College in their AMC Conference series. The Owls tallied a total of 33 runs in the four-game series, winning the first ever matchup between the two institutions.
Opening the series, Woods took a decisive 10-5 victory over the Pioneers. Junior right fielder Jackson Kirn displayed consistency on offense putting up a 4-4 stat line with two singles, two doubles, and two RBIs. Slugging sophomore Colby Caton continued his dominance in AMC conference play notching his fourth home run of the season on a two-out, three-run shot to put the Owls up 7-4. The Owls would go on to score three more runs in the top of the seventh, and veteran southpaw Evan Johnston retired all three CRC batters in the bottom half of the frame to carry The Woods to a 10-5 win.
To close out day one, the Owls defeated Crowley's Ridge College 8-2. Woods exploded for six runs in the fourth inning, propelling them to the win. Gavin Allen got the nod on the bump for his first conference start of the year, pairing up with transfer junior Wiley Brown to hold the Pioneer offense to two runs on five hits. At the plate, Caton, Kirn, and Kaden Kinsler all drove the gap for doubles while Ryan Retone launched a triple in the top of the fourth inning to score a run. Jude Gremillion led the game in run production, driving home two runs on a bases-loaded single in the fourth. The Woods took game two, tallying eleven hits to just one strikeout in the contest.
In day two, the Owls were able to finish the series sweep taking game one by a score of 8-7 and game two 7-1.
The Owls started the day down 4-0 after the Pioneer offense scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Woods responded by scoring three runs in the top of the fourth inning, trailing by one run. Crowley's Ridge notched three singles in the bottom half of the frame, growing their lead to two runs.
Kinsler led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a rocketed groundball that ricocheted off a Pioneer infielder to earn a leadoff baserunner. Designated hitter Jacob McWhirter was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs. On a 1-2 count, Cade Irwin pulled a breaking ball into right field to score Kinsler as the Owls first run of the inning. The Owls went on to score five runs in the inning, the last scoring on a two-out, bases loaded single from Retone. Woods surrendered two runs in the bottom of the sixth but held on to win game one (game three of the series) 8-5.
The 30-minute hiatus left Woods in a similar predicament as game one, facing an early deficit. Woods, trailing by one run in the top of the second, combined three singles to even the game at one. The Owls scored another run in the top of the third when Irwin singled to right field, scoring Caton from second. Owls' starter Peyton Clampitt kept the Pioneers off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest.
Behind the stellar outing on the mound, Woods goes on to score seven runs in the contest. The breakout inning for the Owls was the top of the sixth, as they plated four in the frame. Clampitt, allowing just two hits on the day finishes with 10 strikeouts to five walks over his 7 innings of work.
William Woods is back in action at Backer Sports Complex this weekend to take on AMC foe Missouri Baptist. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday.
