FULTON -- After a pair of relatively low-scoring games to open the series, William Woods (12-14-1, 1-2 American Midwest Conference) and Central Baptist (17-7, 2-1) combined to score 23 runs on 33 hits, but Woods came up on the short end, dropping the series finale 13-10 Saturday.
Matt Hanson scored four runs for Woods, going 3-4 with a walk.
Central Baptist threatened in the top of the first, leading off with a walk and a single and following a strikeout with another walk, but Woods could escape the jam with a strikeout and an easy popup to first.
After retiring its first two batters, WWU posted a two-out rally, with Hanson reaching on an error by second baseman Ryan Dauphinee. After a pair of wild pitches -- including one on a ball four to Kamron Morriss -- put Hanson at third, a daring double steal initiated by courtesy runner Nolan Riechers gave the Owls a 1-0 lead.
CBC loaded the bases again in the second, but Woods stranded all three runners again and settled into a defensive groove, keeping the basepaths clean and hanging zeros in the third and fourth innings.
Woods added a pair of runs to its lead in the bottom of the fourth, as Hanson led off with a single and stole second. Morriss reached on an error by CBC starter Dylan Parton, with Riechers stealing second as a courtesy runner to put runners in scoring position for WWU. Cade Irwin posted a single to score Hanson and Riechers, chasing Parton from the game, but Austin LeJeune got the Mustangs out of danger.
Central Baptist could manufacture a pair of runs at the top of the fifth, but Woods answered at the bottom of the frame, with a Hanson triple scoring Tyler Horton before Morriss plated Hanson.
The Mustangs scored four runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. Although WWU tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom half of the frame, CBC posted a four-run seventh and a three-run eighth to take a 13-8 lead after eight innings.
Jackson Truesdell shut the CBC offense down in the ninth, retiring the side to give Woods a chance to mount a comeback. After Irwin singled to lead off the inning, a strikeout and popup to second left the Owls with one out to scratch five runs across. Kaden Kinsler gave the WWU fans a glimmer of hope with a two-run shot, but Horton couldn't keep the rally going.
The Owls are on the road for a midweek game, the first of a home-and-home series against the University of Saint Mary. The first pitch in Leavenworth, Kan., is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday.