MARSHALL, Mo. – William Woods (22-17, 13-9 Heart) took to the road for the final road series of the year against Missouri Valley (3-38, 3-19 Heart), where they would walk away with two commanding wins over the Vikings for a sweep of the day.
Carson Shettlesworth got the party going early as he sent a home run over the right field fence to put the Owls up 1-0 early over the Vikings. Woods would keep tacking on the runs at the top of the fourth, as a couple of wild pitches and an Evan Rainy sacrifice fly would put the Owls up 4-0.
Jude Gremillion would cap off the fourth inning with a two-run double, scoring Gaither and Caton.
The Vikings would fight back in the bottom of the fourth with five runs of their own to bring the game within one heading into the final three innings. The Owls would immediately tack on at the top of the fifth inning to regain their cushion.
Kaden Kinsler would get the rally started with a lead-off homerun in the top of the fifth.
Ryan Retone would join in on the scoring with a bunt single to score Caton, and a
Jude Gremillion grand slam would cap off the seven-run top of the fifth inning.
A couple more runs would be added on for the Vikings at the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings as the Owls would tack on another two in the top of the seventh to stamp the win in game one, 15-8.
Game two offered more of a pitching battle as each offense stayed scoreless until the third inning.
AJ Vasquez would turn in another quality start on the year, going six innings while only allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out 2.
Kinsler would get the scoring started at the top of the third with a groundout to short, followed by a
Colby Caton single to go up 2-0 over the Vikings. Missouri Valley would add two in the bottom of the third to tie the ball game back up.
Owls would regain the lead at the top of the fourth with a single from
Jackson Kirn and an error from the Vikings to go back up 4-2. Woods would tighten down the hatches, not allowing another run for the rest of the game and tacking on an additional five runs in the top of the seventh.
A Kinsler double would start the top of the seventh to score Gremillion, followed by singles from Rainey and
Grant O'Haver to give the Owls a 9-2 lead and the win over the Vikings.
With the sweep of the Vikings on day one, the Owls will return to Marshall to finish their series tomorrow and try to earn a sweep of the series with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.
