CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- William Woods Softball (19-20, 13-11 Heart) traveled deep into the heart of Iowa for the first leg of their weekend road trip to take on Mount Mercy University (17-23, 12-10 Heart) on Saturday afternoon. The Owls carried an excellent performance from standout arm Taylor Baumhoer to an 11-0 victory in game one before falling short 0-2 in game two.
Woods exploded for 11 runs in the first contest of the day, mixing six hits and nine walks in the game to produce their runs. The Owls tallied three runs in the third inning, all runs scoring on a two-out triple off the bat of first basemen Addie Rhea. The junior from St. Louis has had a stellar spring, driving in her 30th, 31st and 32nd RBI of the year on the swing.
The WWU offense collected four more runs in the top of the fourth inning. This time a bases loaded single from Emmy Blevins scored two runs in the form of Mariah Prince and Sammy Lohnes who reached base via the walk earlier in the inning. Complementing Blevins, Ella Aguiar unleashed on a softball to bring home Lexi Lewis and Blevins on her double to the wall in the right-centerfield gap.
With a seven-run lead in the final frame, William Woods tacked on four more insurance runs to push their lead out to 11-0. Shortstop Brooklynn Spillman earned a bases-loaded walk that brought in Blevins for the first run of the frame. Lohnes laced a single into right-center to produce the Owls second run of the inning. The last two runs of the contest were scored on an MMU miscue off the batted ball from Kaitlyn Plassmeyer that cemented the 11-0 rout in favor of the Owls.
The 30-minute gap proved enough to cool down the scorching WWU offense, as the Owls fall short in game two by a 2-0 scoreline. Facing the Mustangs' ace. Woods struck out 12 times and produced only one hit in the contest, which came off the bat of Addie Rhea. In the circle for the Owls, Hailey Robinson delivered a masterful performance as she allowed only one earned run on five hits as she went the distance.
William Woods returns tomorrow for another Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup, this time in Dubuque, Iowa, to take on the Clarke University Pride.
