STEENS, Miss. – The W baseball team split a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Friday at CCA Field. The Owls (18-15, 12-6 SLIAC) had a comeback win in game one, 15-11, before losing game two to the Red Devils (8-23, 2-15 SLIAC), 16-6, in an eight-inning run-rule final
In the opener, the Owl lead early, only to have Eureka catch them in the fifth. As a matter-of-fact, each half-inning of the fifth, sixth, and seventh frames produced either a tie or lead change. MUW was able to salt away the win by pushing across five runs in the home half of the seventh that flipped an 11-8 deficit to a 13-11 Owls' advantage.
Senior second-baseman
Zack Egan, batting in the number five hole went 3-for-3, all singles. Egan scored three times and drove in a pair of runs. He walked twice and had a sacrifice hit, as well.
Leadoff man
Matthew Windham was 3-for-5, with a double and two RBI. Windham scored three times and drew a walk.
MUW's Nos. 2 and 3 batters,
Chase Marshall (2-4) and
Zach Johnson (2-5) each collected a pair of hits. Marshall had two walks and a run scored.
Johnson clubbed his team-leading 10th home run in the sixth inning, a solo shot to left on the first pitch he saw. He scored three runs and walked once.
Each team managed 13 hits in the game.
Connor Reilly (1-0) picked up his first win of the season as MUW's third hurler of the game. Reilley tossed 2.1 scoreless innings and surrendered just one hit.
The second game was one that The W might want to soon forget, as the Red Devils led wire-to-wire, after a three-run first and a nine-run third set the tone.
Zach Connell (3-4) took the loss, going 2.2 innings, and leading a parade of five Owls to the bump in the game. Connell was charged with nine earned runs, but struck out five EC batters and walked just two.
At the plate,
Colton Neal had a nice day going before getting hit in the face by a pitch that forced him from the lineup in the fifth inning. Prior to being hit, Neal was 2-for-2, with two RBI and a run.
Baron Brack (2-4),
Jack Sledge (2-4), and
Swayze Rikard (2-4) each had multiple hits in game two. Brack and
Michael O'Neill (1-3) each had a double on their ledger.
Johnson (1-4) had a first-inning single in the second game. That base knock extended Johnson's current hitting streak to 20 games and his on-base streak to 32 games this season (and 33 games going back to 2025).
The rubber game of the series will be on Saturday at 11 a.m. at CCA Field.
