Baseball

The wins keep rolling in for The W’s baseball team. 

After splitting a doubleheader with Spalding, the Owls traveled to Illinois for a three-game series at St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents Eureka College, sweeping the Red Devils to improve to 13-12, 9-3 in conference play. 

With the series win, the Owls are now tied for second in the conference standings, two games back from leaders Webster University. 

The Owls kept the bats hot in 15-7, 11-7 and 9-4 victories over the weekend. Outfielder Zach Johnson once again set the tone at the plate for his team, registering four hits and six RBIs in the 15-7 Game 1 win. He registered a hit in each of the remaining two games, including a two-run home run in the Sunday win. 

“He’s been a big part of our team,” head coach Scott Mularz said of Johnson last week. “The success he’s had goes back to the work he puts in, his athletic ability, and being a team-first guy. He does a good job of explaining in the dugout what the pitcher is doing, what to look for and providing tips for the rest of the guys coming up to bat.”

The Owls are back on the road in a midweek non-conference game at Rhodes College on Wednesday, but return home for a SLIAC doubleheader against Principia College on Saturday at Columbus Christian Academy. 

Golf

MUW golf had one of its more memorable weekends since joining the SLIAC, traveling to Indiana for a weekend of action for the men’s and women’s team. As a team, the W women’s team finished in fourth place while the men’s team registered a team win at the Spalding University Preview at Timbergate. 

Senior Zach Riley shot 6-under to take the top spot individually and lead the Owls to a first-place team finish. 

Luke Yocum followed Riley with a third-place finish while Matt Wilkinson, Kemit Spears Jr. and Spence Davis also finished inside the Top 15 at the tournament. 

“Words can’t express how grateful I am to be blessed with the teams that I have had the privilege to coach,” head coach Benji Williams said. “We have seven young men who are graduating this year, and this weekend was the last time all of them got to compete together on the golf course.  We have said this semester: ‘This is your last ride; let’s make it count.’ They have pushed each other day in and day out.” 

The Owls will return to Timbergate in May for the SLIAC men’s golf championships, a title they won last year to book a trip to the NCAA Division III championships. 

“We still have unfinished business,” Williams added, “and can’t wait to see how the end of this semester goes.”

On the women’s side, Sara Grace Ramey posted a career-best individual effort to earn second place individually. Ramey shot back-to-back rounds of 76 and finished just one stroke behind Spalding’s Jordan Harris in the final standings. 

Ramey was followed by teammate Ashley Esabrook in fifth place, the only two Top 10 finishes for the Owls. 

Softball

The Owls softball team kept up its strong start to conference play with doubleheader splits against Greenville University and Fontbonne University at the Don Usher Softball Field in Columbus this weekend. The results see them move to 15-12 overall and 5-2 in conference play. 

The 6-4 win over Greenville on Saturday was the first time the Panthers have lost in conference play this season. Pitcher Brooklyn Rhodes continued an impressive freshman campaign with a five-inning performance, allowing just two runs and striking out four as the Owls built their lead. 

Rhodes pitched again in the win on Sunday, improving her record to 7-2, and contributed at the plate as well. Her two hits and five RBIs helped the W to a 13-3 run-rule win against Fontbonne. 

The weekend action saw the Owls move up to third in the conference standings, one game back of Greenville. 

Track and field

The W track and field teams traveled to Hammond, La., on Friday for a tune-up appearance at the Strawberry Relays ahead of the SLIAC Championships in two weeks. The women finished seventh while the men finished ninth. 

Freshman Hali Sinegal set a school record in the high jump with a height of 1.50-meters, the only school record to fall on the day.