STEENS, Miss. - The W baseball split its doubleheader with St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) leader Spalding University at CCA Field. In game one, the Owls (10-12, 7-3 SLIAC) gave the Golden Eagles (20-8, 9-1 SLIAC) their first SLIAC loss, 3-0, before the visitors took game two, 18-5.
Senior all-region player
Landon Clark (4-1) turned in a dominant effort from the mound. Clark match his own season-high for innings pitched this season by going 7.2 versus SU. Clark scattered five hits and struck out eight Golden Eagles, shutting down a lineup that has scored more than twice as many runs than any other SLIAC team in 2025 and averages 11.3 runs per game.
Connor Reilly tossed the final 1.1 innings, facing the minimum four batters to complete the combined shutout and earn his first save of the season. It was just the second shutout of the year by an opponent versus Spalding and snapped the Golden Eagles' 10-game winning streak.
Clark also helped himself at the plate. Clark went 2-for-4, with an RBI double in the third inning that plated teammate
Swayze Rikard (1-4) with what would prove to be the game-winning run batted in.
In the bottom of the fourth, MUW leadoff man
Matthew Windham slapped an RBI single to extend the Owls' advantage to 2-0.
In the top of the fifth, it was The W's defense that came through in preserving the shutout. With two out and the SU runner Whitt Callahan going from first base, SU smacked a single deep to left center. Callahan rounded third, looking to find his team's first run, but left fielder
Baron Brack hit cut man shortstop
Tyler Estabrook, who relayed a perfect strike to catcher
Avery Benson, to easily cut down Callahan at home.
Zach Johnson (0-2) saw his school-record 19-game hit streak come to an end, but gave the Owls some insurance with a seventh inning sacrifice fly that made it the 3-0 final.
In game two, it was as if the proverbial "sleeping giant" was awoken in game one. Spalding rattled 18 hits off of six MUW hurlers in the run-rule shortened game.
Starter
Will Carter (1-4) took the loss. Carter went 1.1 innings, allowed three hits and three earned runs before being lifted.
Johnson's bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first got the Owls on the board, 3-1. The very next batter was Benson - MUW's all-time home run leader - added to his career total with a grand slam that put The W on top, 5-3.
But that would be the end of the MUW offense, as the Golden Eagles would tally 15 unanswered runs to close out the game.
Windham capped a nice twinbill by going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in the second game. Benson (2-3) also had a multi-hit game.
