JACKSON, Miss. – The W baseball team took on Tougaloo College in a doubleheader on Friday at Smith-Wills stadium. Lagging offense and defensive errors halted the Owls progress in game one, losing 3-2, but strong pitching in game two saw The W win 2-1.
GAME ONE
In the first game of the Friday doubleheader, The W (3-1) sent senior hurler
Drew Williams to the mound against Tougaloo (1-1) right-hander Antonio Shelton.
The Owls were the first to run the plates, with
Heath Ford scoring in the top of the first on a double by
Damain Benefield, giving The W an early 1-0 advantage.
Two sides retired before Tougaloo scored its first run in the bottom of the second. Christian Borders entered the game as a pinch-runner and was able to capitalize on the Owls defensive effort. Borders advanced to second on a stolen base and came home on a wild throw.
There was a silent third inning, but the Bulldogs made up for it in the fourth, with Borders scoring his second run of the day to give Tougaloo a 2-1 lead.
In the sixth, The W tied it up with
Blaize Gann scoring on a sacrifice fly by
Reese Wagner.
The Bulldogs sealed their win in the extra eighth inning when a bases-loaded walk sent Bradford Patton home.
Benefield led the Owls at the plate with a 2-for-4 appearance with one RBI.
Logan Suggs was credited with the loss on the mound, pitching 1.0 innings for one earned run. Williams, the starting pitcher, held the mound for the first three innings for five strikeouts and two hits against.
Dalton Cohea also made an appearance for 3.2 innings pitched, six strikeouts, and five hits against.
GAME TWO
A stellar performance by left-hander
Brady Jones and a decrease in errors in two saw the Owls to a 2-1 victory for the doubleheader split.
Jones, a redshirt junior from Louisville, Miss., pitched the entire 7-inning game for nine strikeouts, three hits against, and one earned run. He faced 27 batters and allowed only two walks for his first win of the season.
Both teams went scoreless in the first inning, but Owls catcher
Collins Brown's homer gave The W the first run of the competition.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth, with D'Anthony Morrow running in on a batted ball to tie the game at 1-1.
The final run of the game was scored in the bottom of the fifth.
Reese Wagner doubled to center to lead off and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt.
Heath Ford singled to left-center for the RBI, sending Wagner home for the game-winning run.
At the plate, Brown led the Owls with a 2-for-2 appearance with one run and one RBI.
UP NEXT
Owls baseball returns to the field on Tuesday, March 2, when it takes on Blue Mountain College in its first home game of the regular season. The first pitch is set for 5 p.m.
For the latest on Owls baseball and the rest of Owls athletics, visit OwlsAthletics.com or follow us on social media at The W Athletics.
