MUW’s baseball team closed out the regular season over the weekend with a series win over visiting Greenville University and is set to head to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament with a seed no lower than fourth.
The Panthers took Game 1 of the twinbill, 8-6, on Friday but the Owls rallied in the second game for a strong 11-3 victory. MUW (22-17, 16-8) was holding on to a narrow 4-3 lead when it exploded for five runs in the sixth inning to break the game open and then added two more in the seventh for good measure. Chase Marshall, Baron Brack and Griffin Fuller each had two hits, and Will Carter and Zach Connell combined to issue seven strikeouts and only give up seven hits and three runs.
The series came down to the wire in Saturday’s finale with the Owls holding on for the 4-3 win in extra innings. Marshall delivered a walk-off RBI single to left field to score Brack and give the Owls their five SLIAC series victory. Matthew Windham and Brack each posted three hits and six other Owls produced one hit each. Campbell McCluney got the win in relief as he pitched the final 3.1 innings and struck out five batters and only gave up two hits.
The team awaits the finish of the regular season for a few other SLIAC teams to figure out their final placement in the standings, and mathematically could be the No. 2 seed and receive a bye to the final four.
Softball
The Owls softball team went into extra innings in both of its two games with SLIAC foe Blackburn College and split with the Beavers.
MUW (16-13, 11-3) took the first game, 3-2, in nine innings thanks to a bunt by Brianna Byrd and a pair of Blackburn errors to break a 1-1 tie and score two runners and hold on for the win. The team got a standout pitching performance from Trinity Garvin, who fanned eight and gave up only six hits and two earned runs in a complete game. Brooklyn Rhodes led the team with three hits and one RBI.
In Game 2, it was Blackburn that got the late triumph and handed MUW a 7-6 loss. Tied up at 6-6 heading into the eighth inning, the Beavers’ Kharma Giles managed to run home during a sacrifice bunt and a fielding error by MUW to steal the win. Owen Addison led the team with four hits that included a home run and two doubles.
The Owls, who sit at the No. 2 spot in the conference standings, will wrap up their regular season this weekend against visiting Spalding University with a doubleheader on Saturday. The SLIAC quarterfinals begin May 5.
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