Owls do just enough to take both games from UHSP

ALTON, IL – William Woods opened a four-game series against the Eutectics by taking the first two games on Sunday afternoon. Max Benton and Barrett Lohman each went the distance in the opening game of the series, as the Owls won 9-3. After Jacob Grim's fourth homerun of the season tied the game in the home-half of the third, Colby Caton gave WWU the lead for good with a two-run triple in the fifth. Caton was 3-for-4 in the game and drove in five. The second game of the doubleheader saw both teams pile up the runs as they scored early and often. Neither starter made it to the fourth inning. Matthew McDonald opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the home half of the first as part of a three-run frame. The Eutectics forced extras with a tying run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Owls earned a sweep of the doubleheader with an 11-9 win in ten innings.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS:

WILLIAM WOODS 9, UHSP 3

• Benton scattered seven UHSP hits in picking up the win (6-4). He allowed three runs, walked one and fanned five.
• Lohman (3-5) was touched for nine runs, eight earned on 13 hits. He struck out three.
• Grim homered to left in the bottom of the third as UHSP responded immediately after the Owls took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. Caton drove in a run for WWU in the top of the inning and Kaden Kinsler had a two-run single. Kinsler was the AMC Freshman Player of the Year last season.
• Caton delivered another two-run hit in a three-run sixth for William Woods.
• Brandon Gibbs and Deklan Riggs each had a pair of hits for UHSP. Gibbs now has a five-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games.
• Grim hit his first homerun since March 1. He has 21 runs batted in on the season.
• Ethan Harrell threw out two would-be base stealers. Lohman also picked off an Owls' base runner.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:

WILLIAM WOODS 11, UHSP 9 (10 INNINGS)

• McDonald's homerun in the first was his fifth of the season and he now has 25 RBI's on the year.
• Brandon Gibbs extended his consecutive game hitting streak to six games with an RBI triple in the second to equal an Owls run in the top of the second.
• Kinsler tripled in a run for WWU in the third as the Owls cut the deficit to 4-3.
• The top of the William Woods lineup came alive for four runs on four hits in inning number four. Camron Casso singled in a run, Caton singled up the middle to drive in a pair and Kinsler had an RBI hit.
• In the home-half of the Eutectics' fourth, Holden Campbell, Grim and Harrell had consecutive RBI at-bats. The first two had run scoring base hits while Harrell drove in a run with a groundout.
• McDonald drove in his third run of the game with an RBI double to right in the sixth that scored Grim to make it a 9-8 game. UHSP left the tying run at third as Nolan Harding was caught stealing to end the inning.
• In the Woods top of the sixth with two on and nobody out, Jacob Grim robbed Cade Irwin of a three-run homerun. Grim went back on a deep fly ball, leaped at the wall and brought a ball back that looked like it had the distance to clear the fence.
• Kyle Smith went three innings getting the start for UHSP. He yielded four hits, three runs, two earned and struck out one.
• Keith Piepmeier started for WWU and lasted just 1.2IP. UHSP touched him for four runs on four hits and a walk.
• Carson Prescott came on with two outs in the sixth having saved five games this season. But he blew the save giving up the game-tying run in the seventh. He ended up picking up the win (1-0) after going 4.1IP with one unearned run on four hits with a walk and a strikeout.
• WWU pitchers did not a record a strikeout until the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the eighth when Prescott struck out Grim.
• Matthew McDonald made two sensational catches in leftfield in the top of the ninth for UHSP. He went back on one toward the line and made a catch on the run with his back to the plate to rob one Owl of extra bases. Then he ended the inning when he ran down a deep drive to left center and held on after a sliding Holden Campbell who was coming over from center slid into McDonald's legs sending him tumbling.
• Logan Stribling had a solid outing in long relief for UHSP. He came on with two outs in the fourth and went 5.1IP coming out after walking the leadoff man in the tenth. He allowed three runs, one earned, six hits, walked four and struck out three. Despite that, he ended up suffering the loss (2-1).
• Jackson Wininger came in with one on in the tenth and Cade Irwin drilled the first pitch Wininger threw over the wall in right for a go-ahead two-run homer.
• Jackson Kirn was 2-for-3 for the Owls, but was on base six times in the contest with two singles, two walks, a hit by pitch and he reached on an error.
• The top six in the Eutectics lineup went a combined 11-for-29. They accounted for 11 of the club's 14 hits.

NEXT UP:

The weekend series between the Owls (22-15, 15-11 AMC) and Eutectics (13-25, 8-18 AMC) continues Monday morning when they square off in another doubleheader beginning at 10:00a. UHSP is idle after that until next weekend when Williams Baptist is in town next Friday and Saturday. Friday's twin bill starts at 4:00p, the Saturday double-dip begins at 1:00p.