FULTON, Mo.- William Woods softball (9-10, 3-1 Heat) split the first ever conference meeting with William Penn University (13-13, 4-4 Heart) at Backer Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon. In what was the hottest day of the year so far, the Owls took a 2-0 win in game one before falling short in game two.  

In game one, William Woods continued to ride the arm of Taylor Baumhoer, who pitched all seven innings in the shutout. The sophomore from Bonnots Mill, Mo., allowed only three. base runners in the game: two base knocks and one via the free pass while striking out eight.  

The Owls offense collected all their runs in the bottom of the second inning, despite the Statesmen making a pitching change in the frame. With the change, Tracy Gastineau turned to the right-handed bat of Perri Dimmit to swing for Kaitlyn Plassmeyer. Dimmit hit into a fielder's choice that scored The Woods' first run of the day. With runners on first and second, Lexi Lewis singled between the first and second basemen to bring home Mariah Prince to seal the Owls 2-0 win over the Statesmen.  

In game two, Wood struggle offensively as they fall short 3-6. William Penn and the Owls traded one-spots in the third inning, before WWU jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the fourth. William Woods scored two runs in the frame, the first coming off a double from Prince who would also come around to score on a base knock from Lewis. The Owls would go on to give up four runs in the fifth and an insurance run in the sixth to drop game two by a score of 6-3. William Woods had four errors in game two, giving up only three earned runs in the contest.  

The Owls return tomorrow for a double header against the nationally ranked Vikings from Grand View University. First pitch is at 1 p.m. under the mid-day sun at Backer Sports Complex.