DUBOIS, Penn. – The Owls softball team advances to the semifinal round of the USCAA Small College World series with Tuesday’s 5-0 victory over Penn State University-Hazelton. Owls ace pitcher Madison Scoggin pitched her 14th complete game to improve to 13-4 in her senior season.
Recording their 11th shutout of the 2019 season, The Owls scored in every frame but the second and fifth while keeping Hazelton scoreless.
In the first inning, Heidi Matthew opened the competition with a single to shortstop to take first, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bailee Watts. Kristen Martin took first on balls and stoles second as Matthews stole third.
With runners on second and third, Emily Littlejohn grounded out for the RBI, allowing Matthews to score the Owls first run.
Matthews landed another hit in the top of the third and advanced to second on a steal. Watts followed Matthews in the lineup with a single to the shortstop to score Matthews and give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
The W bats lit up in the fourth beginning with a single through the left side from Anna Lloyd. Megan James followed with a single to centerfield. After entering the game as a pinch runner, Mackenzie Harris scored the Owls third run on a triple by Brianna Duquette to increase the lead to 3-0.
Still playing hard offensively, The W scored a run in the sixth and seventh innings on singles by James for a 5-0 victory.
On the mound, Scoggin threw 81 pitches against 25 batters. The Bay Springs native sat down six batters on strikes while allowing five hits.
Watts was perfect at the plate with a 3-for-3 appearance for one RBI and one run while Megan James saw a 3-for-4 appearance with two RBIs.
The Owls advance to the semi-finals round of the tournament and will take on No. 1 seed Cleary University today. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT. For the latest on the USCAA Small College World series visit smallcollegeworldseries.com.
BASEBALL
The Owls baseball team proved that they were the team to watch with 9-4 victories over both Penn State University-Mont Alto and Selma University in day two of the USCAA Small College World Series.
In game one of the day, the Owls scored big in late innings to come from behind and defeat the No. 8 seed Mont Alto.
The W broke the scoring seal early in the first with Heath Ford scoring on a single to right field from Brandon Jones.
The Lions answered with two runs in the second but the Owls tied the game after Damain Benefield doubled to right field to allow another run by Ford.
Mont Alto scored two additional runs in the fourth to pull ahead 4-2 but would not hold the lead for long.
In the fifth, The W scored four runs Leon “Trey” Petite came home on a bases-loaded walk and RJ Cox, Johndavid Birdsong, and Ford ran home on an error in right field.
The Owls added three more runs in the sixth to close out the game. Petite scored on an error, Ford scored on another double from Benefield, and Chase Norsworthy collected a run on a Jones single.
On the mound, The W sent out USCAA All-American RJ Dell. The junior from Memphis, Tennessee pitched 5 innings with four runs, seven hits, and three strikeouts.
Relieving Dell, Courtlan Frost pitched 2 innings for one strikeout and three hits against.
Benefield led the Owls at the plate with a 3-for-4 appearance including two doubles for two RBIs. Jones also collected two RBIs for The W while Ford led the Owls with four runs. Utility player Wills Peters took the mound for the second time during the Small College World Series in the Owls victory over Selma. The Tallassee, Alabama, native started the game to pitch 6 innings for four runs, five hits, and nine strikeouts.
The Owls dominated the field with two high scoring innings.
The W racked up four runs in the first with Petite scoring the first run on a passed ball, Ford scoring on a ground out, Benefield coming home on a single by Birdsong, and Birdsong scoring on a sacrifice fly.
In the third inning, senior Prince Tolbert was credited with his second RBI of the day with a single that scored Birdsong.
The Owls extended their lead to 9-0 in the fourth when Petite doubled allowing Reese Wagner to score. It was followed by a single from Benefield to score Petite. Then, Benefield came home on an error. Birdsong came home on a wild pitch for the last run in the inning.
On the mound, Peters tired in the seventh to allow four runs but John David Topik took over pitching duties to stop the bleeding and close the game with The W on top 9-4.
Birdsong had a great game offensively with a 2-for-4 appearance for one RBI and three runs. Petite also performed well with a 2-for-4 appearance including one double for one RBI and two runs.
The Owls return to action today at 11:30 a.m.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.