FULTON -- Jessica Keilholz was solid in both the circle and at the plate, pitching five innings in Game 1 and going 5-7 with three RBI at the plate as William Woods (9-15) split with Culver-Stockton College (9-15) on Tuesday.
The Owls earned a 5-3 win in Game 1 and saw a seventh-inning comeback attempt come up short in Game 2, dropping a 2-1 result.
Culver-Stockton scored in the top of the first, but the Owls answered with the first of Keilholz's three RBI on the afternoon.
After a scoreless second and third inning for each side, Woods struck in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. With one out, Iliana Manzano crushed a first-pitch offering that would have cleared the batting cages on Sunday but held up in the swirling wind. Arianna Donovan knocked a two-out single up the middle just past the reach of shortstop Kataleena Hunt to send Manzano cruising around third and across the plate.
Culver-Stockton was the beneficiary of Mother Nature's quirks in the top of the fifth, as Hunt hit a two-out double that picked up a gust of wind and eluded Morgan Collins, scoring Brylee Throgmorton. Ryley Pacina singled Hunt in, but a popup to short ended the inning.
The Owls answered with three in the bottom of the fifth, with Brooklynn Spillman lacing a single up the middle of the park and stealing second. Rylee Hagens followed suit with a single, moving to second as Hunt's throw home to get Spillman was initially corraled by Alexis Davis at the plate but popped loose in the collision. A double by Ella Aguiar scored Hagens and chased starter Lauren Sinks from the game. A wild pitch moved Aguiar to third, with Keilholz looping an RBI single to left.
Micaiah Cordell came on in relief for Woods in the top of the fifth and settled into a groove after allowing a one-out single. She posted the first of four strikeouts and got Throgmorton to ground out to Manzano at third. In the top of the seventh, Cordell alternated strikeouts and singles to hold for the save.
The Owls opened the scoring in Game 2, scratching across a run in the bottom of the first and threatening in the bottom of the third. Woods stranded seven Wildcats across the first four innings to cling to the 1-0 lead, but CSC managed to level the game at 1-1 in the top of the fifth.
Woods tried to mount a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to reclaim the lead but came up short, and the Wildcats were able to muster a run in the top of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead.
Despite standing two baserunners in the bottom of the sixth, the Owls still had a chance to send the game to extra innings in the bottom of the seventh after retiring CSC in order. Keilholz hit a one-out single into shallow center, with Brooke Lopez adding a two-out single between CSC's third baseman and shortstop. Donovan battled through her at bat but ultimately retired on a towering foul ball that catcher Myah Briese was able to catch just at the backstop.
The Owls are set to open American Midwest Conference play this weekend, traveling to Hannibal-LaGrange on Friday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.