COLUMBUS, Miss. – The Owls baseball team went against one of the toughest teams in the NAIA, Blue Mountain College, on Tuesday, March 20. The W, like many before, suffered back-to-back doubleheader losses to the Toppers to fall to 10-9 on the season.

GAME ONE (L, 20-7)

After being behind 3-0 in the top of the second inning, the Owls rallied in the bottom to put up six runs against the Blue Mountain defense. With bases loaded, Prince Tolbert doubled for two RBIs which allowed Lukas Murphy and RJ Cox to score the first Owls runs of the game.

Following Tolbert's appearance at the plate, Will Peters and Heath Ford singled for an RBI each and Brandon Jones singled to send Ford and Peters home to round out The W's scoring in the inning.

After the big inning for the Owls, The W's defense was unable to focus its effort to stop the Toppers run game. BMC scored seven runs in the third inning, one run in the fourth, four runs in the fifth, and five runs in the sixth to pushed pass the Owls for a 20-6 lead.

Despite the scoring gap, The W kept playing and was able to cut the Toppers lead to 20-7 with a run scored in the bottom of the seventh. Johndavid Birdsong singled for the Owls last RBI to give Cox the last run of the game.

On the mound, the Owls struggled to find a pitching rhythm with five players taking the mound for The W. Nicholas Brooks entered the game in the top of the third for the loss, pitching 0.1 innings for four earned runs.

At the plate, Tolbert put in the most work offensively for the Owls. The junior outfielder went 2-for-4 for two RBIs and one run. Other standout Owls were Peters, Ford, Birdsong, and Jones. Peters, Ford, and Birdsong tied Tolbert with a team game high of two hits and Jones tied Tolbert for the team game high of two RBIs.

GAME TWO (L, 7-1)

After suffering a devastating game one loss, the Owls defense fared better in game two. The W started the game behind BMC with the Toppers scoring two runs in the first. The Owls answered with one run of their own to enter the second down 2-1.

For the Owls only run of the game, Damain Benefield singled and advanced on an error to allow Prince Tolbert to score an unearned run.

David Standifer pitched the entire seven-inning game against the Toppers determined batters. The freshman from Mobile, Ala. did well on the mound but it was not enough to force the Owls victory. In the match-up, Standifer recorded six strikeouts, 12 hits against, and seven runs (five earned).

At the plate, Benefield, freshman infielder, led The W offense. With three at-bats, Benefield recorded one hit for one RBI while Tolbert scored the Owls only run.

UP NEXT
The Owls will return to the diamond on Saturday, March 24 when they host Tougaloo College in a noon doubleheader.

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