OZARK, Mo. - Only giving up three hits in 12 innings, William Woods University (24-15, 14-4 American Midwest Conference) used its great pitching to earn its sixth AMC series sweep on the year, beating Mission University (14-30, 4-14) 4-1 in Game 1 and 8-0 in a five-inning run-rule Game 2 victory Friday at Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.
"Our pitchers gave up three hits on the day, so any time you can do that, good things should happen," William Woods softball coach
Tracy Gastineau said. "We also had some timely hitting."
In Game 1, the Owls scored four runs on nine hits and committed no errors, while the Patriots had one run on one hit and made no errors.
William Woods took the game's first lead in the top of the third when
Jessica Keilholz belted an RBI double to left field, plating
Rylee Hagens from second base. Mission answered in the bottom half, tying it at 1 on a leadoff home run to left center field. But the Owls kept the Patriots from going in front, forcing three straight flyouts.
Another frame, another long ball, and a big one as The Woods went ahead for good, 3-1, on
Brooklynn Spillman's two-run home run with one out that handed her a game-high two RBI.
Ella Aguiar, who hit a single to right field to begin the fourth inning, scored on Spillman's second home run of the season.
Aguiar produced the contest's final run in the seventh inning, smacking a single to center field and bringing in
Lexi Lewis from second base with two outs. Lewis opened the seventh with a base hit for the last of her game-high three hits.
That insurance run gave Owls reliever Keilholz a three-run lead in her final inning of work. It didn't matter how much WWU led by, as Keilholz allowed no runs on a walk in the seventh to finish off the Owls' win.
Keilholz threw the final four innings in relief of William Woods starter
Taylor Baumhoer, and she didn't give up a hit. The Owls' two pitchers needed just 69 pitches combined compared to the Patriots' 121 from their starter that went the distance.
Corynne Miller swiped a bag during the opener for Woods's lone stolen base of the series.
Despite having just two more hits, William Woods scored twice as many runs and needed two fewer innings to win Game 2, plating eight runs on 11 hits and making no errors. Mission had no runs on two hits and didn't make an error.
The Owls jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, using four hits and a walk to get those runs. And the plays that WWU earned those runs were on three straight RBI singles with one out: Aguiar drove in Spillman on her hit to left field,
Addie Rhea brought in Keilholz on hers to right and
Sara Foster sent Aguiar home on hrs to left.
William Woods needed just two innings to put together its eight runs. The Owls plated their final five runs in the third inning, when they had five hits and a walk.
Following a leadoff walk and two singles to begin the third, Rhea scored The Woods's first run of the inning on Hagens's groundout to second base. Two batters later, Spillman sent two Owls across home plate on her two-bagger to left center field.
Mariah Prince did the same thing in the next at-bat, pushing Spillman and
Kaitlyn Plassmeyer in on her double to left field, the final runs of WWU's 8-0 rout of Mission.
Guiding the Owls in their offensive onslaught, Foster went 3-3 with two singles, one double, one run and one RBI, and Spillman finished 2-2 with a double, single, HBP, two runs and two RBI.
In the circle, William Woods's
Sarah Randermann (10-8) tossed her third complete-game shutout, fifth complete game with no earned runs allowed this season, punching out nine of a possible 15 hitters while walking just one and using only 68 pitches.
With Friday's wins, the Owls overtook (RV) Columbia College (26-12, 17-5 AMC) for second place in the AMC. They will next face the team currently sitting fourth in the AMC, Central Baptist College (24-20, 13-5), in their final road series of the season, beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday at City of Colleges Park in Conway, Arkansas.
