MILLINGTON, Tenn. -  After dropping both ends of its doubleheader versus Asbury University on Friday – in very different ways – the Mississippi University for Women bounced back with what might well be a season-changing walk-off win in Saturday's season finale. The Owls (8-14) lost the twinbill to a very strong Eagles' (15-9) team by scores of 4-3 and 12-2, before an exciting come-from-behind victory, 10-9, in game three.
 
No one was bigger in the series than the Owls' duo of Landon Clark and Avery Benson, especially in the series finale.
 
Clark – a freshman from Tuscaloosa, Ala. - had a tremendous weekend, both at the plate and on the mound. With the bat, Clark was a combined 5-for-12 (.417) in the series, with at least one hit in each game – including the game winner on Saturday - and two home runs. He drove in five runs and scored twice.
 
On the hill, Clark made his first pitching appearance for The W in the game two loss and was the benefactor of his own heroics in game three to earn his first win at The W. On Friday evening with the game out of hand, Clark came on in relief and was sterling in his 2.1 inning stint with zero hits allowed and four strikeouts. Of his 24 pitches thrown, he had 23 strikes in his inaugural effort from the mound.
 
On Saturday, Clark set Asbury down in order in the ninth. He was the pitcher of record when he delivered a single through the left side of the Eagles' infield in the bottom of the frame, that drove home Joel Estabrook with the game-winning run that broke a 9-9 deadlock.
 
"Today's game was a momentum changer for the season," Clark recounted. "We haven't started out great but we are ready to pull through the rest of the season. It was a battle today and we came out on top."
 
In Saturday's win, however, the Owls deployed the long ball to get back into the game in the first place. And that's where Benson came in. The junior transfer from Hatley, Miss., went 4-for-4 in the game and clubbed a pair of home runs, amassing four runs batted in and scoring three times, as well.
 
A solo shot in the second by Benson put the Owls up, 1-0. In the sixth, Benson's long ball gave The W a 4-2 lead.
 
Clark unloaded a three-run blast in the eighth to help MUW draw within a single run, 9-8. Austin Telano would score the tying run on a delayed double steal a few batters later.
 
"All weekend we fought as hard as we could and had good at bats," Benson explained after the third game. "We just ran into some things that we couldn't help and it kind of bit us. But in game three, we were able to reset and come together even more as a team, and fight and claw our way to that win. We had a good outing by all of our pitchers and our bats were hot today and we were getting those timely hits when we needed them. This team is a really special team and when we're all clicking together, we're going to be dangerous to whoever we play."
 
In Friday's tough game one setback, starting pitcher Kirby Ross gave a strong 7.0 inning performance, despite getting saddled with the loss. Ross allowed just three hits and two runs. He struck out a season-high nine batters and walked just two.
 
Ross received offensive support from Clark and Tanner Evans, each with solo home runs in the fifth and ninth innings, respectively. Blaize Gann (3-4) had an RBI double in the eighth.