Lady Owls look to stave off AMC exit

COLUMBIA - The William Woods University Lady Owls softball team owned the edge in hits, but that did not translate to the ultimate advantage on the scoreboard.

Despite out-hitting top-seeded Lindenwood-Belleville (Illinois) 7-3, No. 5 William Woods bowed to the Lady Lynx 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the American Midwest Conference postseason tournament at Antimi Softball Complex.

The Lady Owls (28-23), who had their eight-game winning streak halted, toppled No. 4 seed Freed-Hardeman (Tennessee) University 7-0 in first-round play earlier Wednesday. William Woods will try to avoid elimination when it clashes with No. 2 seed Park University in the loser's bracket at 9 this morning.

Park was surprised by No. 7 seed Missouri Baptist University in a 5-4 first-round loss, but the Lady Pirates rebounded with a 7-4 victory over No. 3 seed Lyon (Arkansas) College.

The Lady Owls were swept in a doubleheader at Park on April 3.

William Woods took a 1-0 lead over Lindenwood in the top of the first on sophomore third baseman Beth Begemann's. The Lady Lynx immediately answered with a run in their half of the first to tie the game, then went in front to stay at 3-1 by putting up two runs in the third.

The Lady Owls pulled within a run on junior left fielder Sydnae Hatton's RBI single in the fifth, but William Woods was unable to overtake Lindenwood.

Hatton went 4-for-4 and also scored a run to pace the Lady Owls, while Begemann finished 1-for-3. Sophomore center fielder Hannah Campbell was also 1-for-4 with a double and scored once, and senior designated player Caroline Sicht went 1-for-3.

Freshman starter Bre Logan worked 4 2/3 innings in taking the loss for William Woods. Logan (10-9) surrendered three earned runs on three hits, but issued six walks and only had one strikeout.

The Lady Owls set the tone in their win over Freed-Hardeman with a power display in the bottom of the first. Campbell launched a leadoff home run, redshirt sophomore right fielder Brailee Schulte smashed a two-run shot and junior shortstop Shelby LeCuru followed with another solo homer to stake William Woods to a 4-0 lead.

Campbell added to the Lady Owls' advantage when she scored after senior first baseman Kacey Scharnhorst reached on an error in the second. William Woods made it 4-0 on LeCuru's RBI double in the fourth and the Lady Owls tallied their final run on Begemann's RBI single in the sixth.

LeCuru finished 3-for-3 as William Woods collected 13 hits. Schulte, Begemann, Scharnhorst and Hatton - who scored twice - were each 2-for-4.

Freshman starter Allison Waskow tossed a three-hit shutout to earn the victory for the Lady Owls. Waskow (12-11) struck out six and walked two.