FULTON, Mo.- What a day for William Woods softball (22-21, 16-12 Heart) as they sweep Heart of America Athletic Conference Rival, and #8 nationally ranked, Missouri Baptist University (37-10, 23-5) at Backer Sports Complex.
In game one, Woods jumped out to an early three-run lead with a crooked number in the bottom of the second. The senior combination of Brooklynn Spillman and Mariah Prince both notched singles early in the frame. With Prince stealing second on the first pitch of the next at-bat to put runners on second and third with one out. Woods' second baseman, Kaitlyn Plassmeyer, delivered her most impactful knock of the season with a two-RBI single to right field. Lexi Lewis traded places with Plassmeyer, before Emmy Blevins could bring in The Woods' center fielder to make it a 3-0 game.
The Owls scratched another run in the bottom of the fourth when Lewis brought in Prince. The senior left fielder, Prince, led off the inning with a loud triple into the right-center gap to set Woods up for their lone insurance run. With one away, Lewis put a hard-hit ball in play on the right side that scored Prince and gave William Woods a 4-0 lead.
Missouri Baptist scratched their lone run in the top of the seventh, but the Owls were able to minimize the damage and scrape by with a 4-1 against the Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions. Taylor Baumhoer held her own in the circle against one of the best offenses in the country, allowing only three hits while fanning six in her complete game win. With the win, Woods cemented their spot in the Heart Conference Softball Tournament in their first year of Heart conference play.
Woods fell behind in game two, thanks to the ignition of the Spartan offense. MBU put up a lone run in the third inning before expanding their lead to three runs with a two-run fourth frame. The Owls were able to cut the lead to two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Lewis brought in Plassmeyer, who was in to run for Kiley Grubbs. The Owls relief pitcher, Grubbs, reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the frame when she filled the nine-hole in the lineup.
Grubbs threw a clean slate in the fifth, sixth, and seventh frames; allowing only one hit on 11 batters faced and giving her team a chance to crawl back into the game against one of the top arms in the Heart of America Conference.
The Owls' arm led off the bottom of the seventh inning, with a barreled fastball right back up the middle to spark The Woods' offense. A single from Lewis set up Woods at second and third with none-away, and a Missouri Baptist call to the bullpen. With the new arm in, and runners on first and second, Tracy Gastineau elected to have her third baseman, Blevins, drop down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners in scoring position.
Red hot hitter, Ella Aguiar, continued to demonstrate her prowess in the box, leveling a single in-between the infielders to the right side to cut the MBU lead to one run and put the go-ahead run on first. Addie Rhea, coming into the matchup today with a .351 average, stood as the key hitter for the Owls. Working a 2-1 count, Rhea elevated a deep drive into the right-center gap for a walk-off double.
Woods snaps a seven-game losing streak to MoBap, putting the all-time series at 30-18 in favor of William Woods.
William Woods returns next week at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Softball Championship Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Stay tuned to wwuowls.com for seeding and game time information.
