O'FALLON, Mo. – The W baseball, seeded No. 2 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) tournament – found the going rough in its semifinal game versus No. 3-seed Spalding University and its potent offense, 18-4. As a result, the Owls (19-16) will next face Westminster College on Friday (11 a.m.) in an elimination game.
 
In the early going, MUW matched the Golden Eagles (28-12). After SU scored a run in he top of the first, The W matched it in the home half of the inning when Landon Clark blasted a solo home run, for his fifth roundtripper of the season.
 
Even after Spalding got to MUW starter Robby Canten (1-4) for four runs in the second to make it 5-1, the Owls responded. In the bottom of the third, MUW posted a three-spot thanks to an RBI single by Zach Johnson, a run-scoring fielder's choice by Clark, and a sacrifice fly from Baron Brack that made it a 5-4 game just a third of the way through the contest.
 
But that would be the end of The W's offense for the game. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles – leading the SLIAC in virtually every offensive category – would tally 13 unanswered runs in a game that endured a nearly two-hour lightning delay in the top of the ninth, as well.
 
In all, The W collected six hits. Johnson had the only multi-hit game, going 2-for-4. Matthew Windham (1-4) had the Owls' only other extra-base hit with a leadoff double to ignite MUW's third-inning burst.