The seasons for MUW’s baseball and softball teams came to a close on Tuesday with home losses in their respective St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournaments.
The W’s No. 4-seeded baseball squad hosted No. 5-seeded Westminster at CCA Field for its first-ever home conference playoff game and was held scoreless for the first seven innings in a 4-2 loss.
A one-run single by Troy Romero gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning they never relinquished and they added two more runs in the sixth by way of a Donovan Bohler single and an Owls’ throwing error. MUW attempted to rally in the eighth inning with RBI singles by Baron Brack and Michael O’Neill for two runs, but it was all the team could muster in the single-game elimination playoff match. Westminster’s Donovan Bohler put the finishing touches on the victory with one last RBI single in the ninth inning.
Averaging 8.7 runs per game coming into the game, MUW was outhit 11-7 with two errors. Zach Johnson led the team with three hits, and Jack Sledge had two. Johnson finished the season with a team-high .409 batting average for the third best year at the plate in program history. Starting pitcher Chris Ellis took the loss as he worked the first 4 ⅓ innings. He gave up three hits, one earned run with one walk and five strikeouts.
The Owls end their season at 22-18 overall for the third straight year with more than 20 wins. The Blue Jays (17-24) advance to the semifinals and play Webster University today for a trip to the SLIAC championship game.
Softball
The W’s softball team suffered the same fate Thursday but by different means in a 10-2 season-ending loss to the Blue Jays at Don Usher Field in Columbus.
A sac fly by Brianna Byrd put the Owls on top in the second inning and an Addison Owen RBI single in the third countered a Westminster (17-21) score in the top of the third for an early 2-1 advantage – but their lead didn’t stand for long. A walk and two singles loaded the bags for the Blue Jays in the fifth inning, and Chloe Ferguson drilled a three-run double to spark a spree of four runs for Westminster. In the seventh inning the Jays put the game out of reach with five more runs with a single and two more doubles.
The Owls, who were outhit 11-7, end their season at 17-15 overall. Addison Owen led the squad with two hits, and Brooklyn Rhodes took the loss in the circle. She started and went the first five innings but gave up six hits, five runs and struck out five batters.
Westminster moves on to play Spalding University today in the semifinals.
Tennis
The W’s men’s and women’s tennis teams earned a heap of honors Tuesday after standout seasons with 11 total Owls getting selected earning Upper Midwest Athletic Conference South Division awards.
Both squads ended their years in the semifinals of the UMAC championship tournament.
Jorge Catala Ortiz of the men’s team headlines the group by taking home Player of the Year honor – a first for the program. Alvaro Bardales was tabbed as a first-team All-UMAC South selection, and Marcos Fernandez and Juan Garcia were both second-team honorees. Sandro Giangregorio rounded out the group as an honorable mention.
On the women’s team, Austin Hays, Bailey Flynn, Kayleigh Griffin, and Brooklyn Ward were all named to the All-UMAC South second team.
Emma Horton was an honorable mention selection, and Alaina Mathis was recognized on the UMAC South All-Sportsmanship Team.
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