DUBUQUE, Iowa- Finishing out their last road trip of the regular season, William Woods softball (20-21, 14-12 Heart) took the field at Veterans Memorial Park to take on the hosting Clarke University Pride (22-22, 11-11 Heart) on Sunday afternoon. Woods took the first-ever meeting between the two squads 6-3 and lost a heart-breaking game two on a walkoff home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In their first meeting, the Owls were able to jump on the board first in the top of the second inning. William Woods combined for two free passes and hits to plate their first lead of the game. Ella Aguiar led off the frame with a loud double into the right-center gap, giving way to back-to-back one-out walks from Sara Foster and Mariah Prince to load the bases. With two away, Kaitlyn Plassmeyer and Lexi Lewis notched consecutive singles to bring in all three base runners.
The Owls gave up two in the fourth inning, and one in the fifth inning to even the contest with the Pride. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Prince earned a free pass resulting in her standing on second base after a swipe of the bag. Plassmeyer achieved first base on a crucial Pride miscue that resulted in the Owls taking the lead once again. Lewis extended the lead once again with a powerful drive deep into the gap for a triple that brought home Plassmeyer all the way from first base. Brooklynn Spillman manufactured an extra insurance run in the top of the seventh as the Owls hold on to win game one 6-3.
Game two, again saw the Owls rely heavily on the three-run inning. William Woods collected all their runs in the top of the fifth inning, combining three singles and two fielder's choice plays to advance the runners. Plassmeyer got the offense rolling in the frame with a one-out single that was followed up by a fielder's choice play off the bat of Lewis that was unable to retire the speedy Plassmeyer at second. Emmy Blevins loaded the bases with a knock back up the middle to set the table for the slugging Aguiar. The junior from Windsor, Colorado, delivered with runners in scoring position once again; this time with a ball into centerfield that scored Plassmeyer and Lewis that gave the Owls a two-run lead. Addie Rhea's FC later in the frame scored Blevins and the last run William Woods would score in the contest.
Hailey Robinson, pitching through six innings and briefly into the seventh, allowed only one earned run on the day while striking out two. That run came in the bottom of the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly that Lewis reeled in saving what was sure to be a no-doubt double that would have scored two runs.
In the bottom of the seventh, Woods turned to their game one arm, Baumhoer, to seal the game. With two outs, and two on, Pride slugger Teal Transburg delivered the most impactful hit of the year for the Clarke program. After swinging through the first two pitches, she was able to foul off two more fastballs before watching ball one. On the next pitch, she centered the ball on the barrel of the bat, lifting it over the left field wall for a no-doubt three-run walk off shot to end the contest and even the series.
William Woods returns for their last regular season matchup next Saturday as they host the #6 team in the country represented by Missouri Baptist University. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Backer Sports Complex.
