ELSAH, Ill. – The W baseball used two different methods, but got the same result, scoring a pair of St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) road wins at Principia College. The Owls improved to 11-8 overall and 5-0 in the SLIAC, while the Panthers fell to 2-11 and 0-5 in SLIAC games.
 
The same two teams will close out the three-game series on Saturday (March 21/12 p.m.).
 
The first game of the day quickly took on a more football-like score, much of that having to do with the efforts of MUW's collection of players who call the state of Alabama home, where they have an affinity for gridiron numbers. Overall, the "Alabama Owls" went an aggregate 14-for-25 (.560), drove in 12 runs, scored 12 runs, had two doubles, three home runs, and drew five walks in Friday's opening game.
 
Senior center-fielder Matthew Windham, from Calera, Ala., went 5-for-6 at the plate, slammed a pair of home runs and a double, and drove in four runs. Windham also tied his own school game record – set just 10 days ago - by scoring five runs versus the Panthers.
 
Windham, the second batter of the day, hit a solo homer in the first and then popped a two-run shot in the top of the fifth to cut The W's deficit at the time to 6-5. In the seventh inning, Windham had what might be an unheralded play that proved crucial for the Owls, who were down 8-5. With a pair of long balls already on his game ledger, Windham led off the frame with a perfect bunt single toward third and, eventually, scored on Jay Marbutt's fielder's choice grounder that made it 8-6, before catcher Michael O'Neil hit a two-run blast that knotted the contest at 8-8.
 
Then in the eighth, Windham slapped an RBI single through the right side with bases loaded. That gave MUW the lead it would not relinquish, 9-8, and opened the door for an eventual five-run at-bat for the Owls, who carried a 13-8 cushion into the home half of the eighth.
 
The freshman Marbutt, a native of Haleyville, Ala., went 3-for-5, with a run, a walk, and three RBI. Birmingham, Ala., native Zach Johnson, a senior outfielder, scored three runs on a 2-for-4 game, with a double and a pair of walks. Designated hitter Baron Brack, from Pine Road, Ala., was 2-for-6, scoring twice and walking once, while junior Chase Marshall – who hails from Moody, Ala. – drove in four runs thanks to his three-run homer in the eighth, finishing at 2-for-4 for the game.
 
Sophomore shortstop Swayze Rikard (Oxford, Miss.), who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, was the only non-Alabaman with a multi-hit game for MUW. Overall, The W out-hit Principia by a 17-15 margin in game one.
 
Will Carter (4-0), who came on in the fifth in relief of starter Campbell McCluney, got the win as the benefactor of MUW's big eighth inning outburst. Carter went 3.1 innings, with three strikeouts and no walks. Carter got help from Josh Mackey (Huntsville, Ala.), who got the final two outs of the eighth and Johnson, who gave up a run in the ninth, but also registered three strikeouts, to close out matters.
 
The second game took on a more traditional feel early on, at least for the Owls. MUW junior righty Zach Connell (1-2) carried his team through 7.0 strong innings for a quality start, and earn his first victory at The W. Connell scattered four hits - his only blemish a leadoff home run in the third – and struck out eight Panthers, with no walks. Connell exited with MUW holding a 7-1 lead.
 
Robby Canten finished up, tossing 2.0 hitless and scoreless frames. He struck out two and walked just one PC batter.
 
MUW's Canadian import, O'Neil slugged his second homer of the day in game two and was 3-for-5 overall. He scored three and drove in two runs.
 
Johnson had another multi-hit game, going 2-for-5, with two runs scored and an RBI. Elliott Turbyfill, getting the start at secondbase, went 2-for-3 and drew a pair of walks. Marshall went 1-3, with a triple, and two RBI, while Windham finished up h9is day with a 1-for-5 game, a double, two runs scored and two ribbies.