Owls Spoil MCU Senior Day with DH Sweep

There were some highlights for the Mid-Continent University baseball team on their final senior day, but in the end, the Cougars did not get the results they were after.

Mid-Continent (18-23, 10-14) played well in spurts in a double-header with William Woods University (32-9, 17-7), but the Owls offense proved to be too much, as Mid-Continent dropped both ends of a the twin-bill by scores of 17-3 and 7-2.

After William Woods opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning in game one, Uriel Hawkins led off the bottom of the frame with a double off the left field fence. Dain Burress put down a sacrifice bunt to move Hawkins to third with only one away, and Jordan Adams followed with an RBI groundout to pull the Cougars level at 1-1.

The score remained the same into the fourth inning, when it appeared Michael Edwards had pitched around back-to-back two out singles. Edwards threw a 2-2 slider to Sam Moon that he thought should have been strike three, but it was instead ruled a ball to fill the count. Moon followed with a single on the next pitch and the Owls rally was off and running. Before all was said and done in the frame, the Owls would see eight consecutive batters reach with two out in the inning, and seven runs come across to break the game open. They added three more unarned tallies in the fifth, and another one in the sixth, building a 12-1 lead.

Argenis Salazar (3) blasted a solo homer to left-center in the bottom of the sixth, but the Owls answered right back with five runs in the seventh, pushing their lead to 17-2. Dain Burress picked up an RBI when he reached on an error and Tyler Cheatham scampered home in the bottom of the final frame, providing the final score of 17-3.

John Cavness (6-1) allowed seven hits and three earned runs in the complete game victory, with Michael Edwards (3-5) taking the loss for the Cougars. Hawkins and Caleb Crabtree each had two hits for the Cougars in the game.

The Owls offense picked up right where it left off in the first three innings of game two, building a 7-0 lead with three straight multi-run innings. That is when Mid-Continent coach Tyler Owen handed the baseball to senior left-hander Blake Wheeler.

Wheeler turned in a stellar relief performance, yielding only one hit and two walks, fanning two Owls in six shutout innings. That performance helped keep the Cougars in the game, and in the fifth frame, Mid-Continent tried to mount a rally.

Salazar led off the inning with a single back through the box, and one out later, Drew Schmitt (1) belted a two-run dinger to left to get Mid-Continent on the board at 7-2. Dalton Utley followed with a walk, and Cheatham singled to put two on with only one away, but they were unable to draw any closer, as both runners were stranded.

Over the final four innings, the game flew by. The teams combined for two hits -- one single apiece -- and neither team got a runner to third, as the Owls finished off the sweep with a 7-2 win.

Bubba Bradshaw (5-1) lasted six and two-thirds innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits, three walks, and six strikeouts in earning the win. Bill Schroeder (3-3) took the loss, lasting three innings and yielding seven earned runs on eight hits and two free passes. Salazar, Cheatham, and Brennen Pritchett all singled for the Cougars with Schmitt's homer rounding out the MCU offense.

The Cougars now find themselves two games behind Park University for sixth-place in the AMC standings heading into the final conference weekend, after the Pirates swept a double-header from Benedictine-Springfield on Saturday. Mid-Continent will wrap up their regular season next weekend on the road at Hannibal-LaGrange University (12-32-1, 5-19). Friday night's game is scheduled for 5 p.m., with the Saturday double-header slated for 11 a.m.