COLUMBIA, Mo. – William Woods (5-2) made the trip back to Columbia to wrap up its series with the Viterbo V-Hawks (0-4), and for the second straight day, the Owls handled business, finishing off the sweep and walking away with their first series sweep of the season.
Game one saw the Owls waste no time getting the offense rolling. Two runs crossed in the bottom of the first as
Colby Caton delivered with an RBI, and
Sam Russo later came around to score on a wild pitch. From there, William Woods kept the pressure on, scoring in every inning except the fifth and steadily building separation.
The big blow came in the sixth. After loading the bases, Russo and
Evan Rainey each came through with RBI singles. Brenden Rochelle and Caton each had sacrifice flies, pushing four runs across and stretching the lead to 9-1. That cushion was more than enough for the Owls' pitching staff to take it home.
Jakob Koehn was sharp on the mound, tossing 4.2 innings while striking out four. He allowed just one run and worked around three walks to keep the V-Hawks in check.
Chance Lehman and
Ethan Rose closed the door out of the bullpen to secure the 9-1 victory in the opener.
Game two featured freshman
Brayden Groseclose getting the nod, and the right-hander delivered. Groseclose spun 5.0 innings, striking out five and not allowing an earned run in another strong outing from the Owls' staff.
The offense broke things open in the fourth.
Ryan Retone singled home
Jackson Kirn to get it started and later scored on a wild pitch in the same frame. Russo added another RBI knock, and
Cam Casso capped the inning as four runs crossed the plate.
William Woods wasn't done yet. In the sixth, the Owls plated five more to put the game out of reach. Kirn roped a triple to bring in two, and freshman Bennet Greenhagen followed with a two-run single of his own. Those two explosive innings gave the Owls an 11-3 advantage heading into the seventh.
The V-Hawks couldn't mount a comeback as the Owls closed it out to complete the sweep and improve to 5-2 on the year.
William Woods will have a quick turnaround, heading back to Columbia on Friday for an 11:00 a.m. match-up against Northwestern, followed by a 1:00 p.m. contest against Columbia College.
