No. 25 Owls' rally stretches win streak to eight

The No. 25 William Woods University Owls relied on a rousing rally to preserve their winning streak with Tuesday's 8-7 non-conference victory over MidAmerica Nazarene (Kansas) University at Backer Sports Complex.

William Woods University - which overcame a 7-1 deficit in the fifth inning - won its eighth straight in raising its season record to 33-9. MidAmerica Nazarene, plagued by four errors, dropped to 27-18 overall.

The Owls scored what proved to be the winning run when freshman pinch-runner Patrick Dillion raced home on senior center fielder Cody Stewart's infield single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

William Woods cut into its six-run deficit by tallying three runs in the fifth. Junior left fielder Larry Price and senior right fielder Nick Spagnola supplied back-to-back, RBI singles and Stewart followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to bring the Owls within 7-4.

Junior pinch-hitter Grant Garrett then knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it a two-run game. William Woods pulled even at 7-all in the seventh when Stewart produced another RBI infield single and later scored on an error.

Stewart finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases as the Owls amassed 12 hits. Spagnola also went 3-for-5 with two RBI and scored once, while senior designated hitter Dustin Kremer was 2-for-5 with two doubles.

Senior James Ball - the last of six William Woods pitchers - tossed four scoreless innings to log the win. Ball (7-1) gave up just one hit, struck out two and walked none. The Owls were able to withstand three errors of their own.

William Woods finishes the regular season this weekend with a three-game American Midwest Conference series against Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis. The two teams open with a single game at 2 p.m. Friday, followed by a noon doubleheader Saturday.