SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – William Woods opened its second round of the tournament under the lights as they took on the #7-seeded Central Methodist Eagles with a chance to head to the semi-finals.
This matchup would turn into a pitching duel from the start as each pitcher would toss 4 scoreless innings each. Freshman
Brayden Groseclose would get the ball for game two of the tournament and turn in a gem for Woods. He would toss 7 innings, striking out 5 and allowing only 2 runs, giving the Owls a great opportunity to advance in the tournament.
The Eagles would tag the freshmen first in the bottom of the fifth with two runs off the starter to break the score streak and go up over the Owls, 2-0.
Owls would generate all their offense at the top of the seventh as they were able to capitalize on some help from the Eagles. A single from
Evan Rainey would score
Cam Casso to cut into the lead of Central Methodist.
A single from
Aidan Gaither would generate some chaos as the left fielder would miss his cut to gift the Owls with another run to take the lead from the Eagles and go up 1. Another pinch hit single,
Sam Russo would score Gaither from second and give the Owls a 4-2 lead late in the ball game.
The Owls would come in and slam the door on the offense of the Eagles with
Parker Austin tossing an inning with one walk and no runs, and
Ayden Gates tossing an inning for his third save of the year with 2 strikeouts to secure the Owls with their second win of the tournament.
Owls after dark would walk away with the 4-3 win and continue their red-hot streak and advance to the Semi-finals against Mid-America Nazarene for a 5:00 first pitch.
