FULTON, Mo. - On a big time Tuesday in the Owls of William Woods University (22-15, 12-4 American Midwest Conference) and Cougars of Columbia College (25-9, 16-2) athletics rivalry, the action began mid-afternoon on the home diamond of Backer Sports Complex. After CC took Game 1 7-0, WWU walked out of Backer on a high note, taking its last-ever AMC matchup with the Cougars by winning 4-2 in Game 2.
Erase one frame from the box score, and Game 1 was a tight matchup, featuring two of the top Class of 2024 hurlers in the state of Missouri: William Woods's
Taylor Baumhoer (9-6), back-to-back state champion with Fatima, received the most votes among Class 3 all-state pitchers each of those seasons (2022-23), and Columbia's Megan Graver (11-4), placed third in Class 3 in 2022, two-time all-state honoree for Bowling Green.
For four innings, both the Owls' and Cougars' arms in the circle kept their opposition at bay with Baumhoer punching out seven CC hitters while giving up four hits (all singles), a walk and an HBP and Graver sending nine packing while allowing two hits (one extra-base hit - a leadoff double by
Jessica Keilholz in the bottom of the third) and one walk.
One forgetful frame changed Game 1 and decided the result as the Cougars plated seven runs on three hits, three errors and three walks in the top of the fifth.
For the game, WWU had no runs on three hits and committed five errors while CC had seven runs on eight hits and had no errors.
After seeing their eight-game winning streak snapped in Game 1, the Owls wanted to turn around and halt the Cougars' 12-game winning streak - and they did.
Helping Wililam Woods to victory, it had a great game in the circle from senior
Sarah Randermann (9-7) while Columbia didn't from starter Kennedy Jensen (9-2), who lasted just 2â…“ innings as the Cougars used three pitchers - four on the day.
The Owls only needed three pitchers on the day, and in Game 2 - just one. Recording the complete-game win, Randermann allowed no earned runs on four hits, one walk and an HBP while striking out four.
Woods gave Randermann a starter's dream, early run support as Keilholz, with two outs in the bottom of the first, roped a single to left field, plating
Mariah Prince from second base.
Although the Owls stranded four runners on base between the first and second innings, no Cougars reached home plate in that time. And on one swing in the bottom of the third, one run was added to WWU's side of the scoreboard as
Sammy Lohnes cranked a one-out, one-run long ball over the fence in left field to make it 2-0 Owls.
In the fourth, William Woods left three runners on base, but in the fifth, the Owls added a third run to their lead as Lohnes, who reached on a leadoff walk, scored her game-high second run on
Ella Aguiar's sacrifice fly to right field.
In the sixth, a mixture of the fourth and fifth innings occurred. Woods left three on base, though more importantly, the Owls tacked on the fourth and final run to their lead. Columbia handed WWU three free passes, and the last of them, a bases-loaded walk issued to Aguiar, gave the Owls' designated player her game-high second RBI that scored
Lexi Lewis for the host's final run.
Flipping the scorebook to the game's final frame, Randermann needed to get just three more outs to secure a Woods win. It didn't come easily as the first three Cougars reached to load the bases with no outs. However, Randermann struck out the next batter and forced a flyout to center field as CC was down to its final out.
The Cougars applied pressure on the Owls, cutting their deficit in half on a two-RBI single to right field. But, William Woods first baseman
Addie Rhea snagged a pop fly in foul territory, locking down an Owls win as the team celebrated together in the infield.
Winning the more notable of the two matchups, WWU can say it won its final AMC game with CC in a series that dates back to March 20, 2001. Who took that matchup? The Owls did as they beat the Cougars 12-2 on their home field in Fulton over 14 years ago as they did, 4-2, Tuesday.
Holding a one-win edge over Central Baptist College (22-20, 11-5 AMC) for the No. 3 seed, William Woods looks to make that a more comfortable series as it opens the weekend, traveling down to Ozark to face first-year AMC member Mission University (13-27, 3-11 AMC) in a doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m. Friday at Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.
