MUW Splits Doubleheader Against Blue Mountain

COLUMBUS, Miss. (MUW Athletics/WCBI) – The Owls baseball team split a doubleheader with Blue Mountain College Tuesday, March 12. The W grabbed one and dropped one, gaining in game one 6-5 but falling in game two 5-4 to move to 8-3 on the season.

GAME ONE (W,6-5)
The Owls struggled to score in the first inning, finding themselves behind 5-0 but in the second inning, they were able to find a stride. The Owls continued to battle as there were no scores until the sixth inning advancing The Owls 6-5.

Sophomore pitcher Drew Williams grabbed his third win of the season on the mound. Williams pitched the entire 7.0 innings allowing five runs and two strikeouts.

Heath Ford contributed to The Owls win as he hit 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one run. Lukas Murphy, Cody Brewington, Damain Benefield, RJ Cox, Prince Tolbert, and Trey Petite combined to produce eight hits, four RBIs, and five runs in the win over the Toppers.

Coach Wolf’s Thoughts

“I’m really proud of our whole team in game 1. We got down 5-0 against a good team, but as we always do, we fought back. Drew Williams was an absolute bulldog for us today. He competed in the zone all day. Our offense did what it does best and we just ground out at bat after at bat all game, and we found a way to win.”

GAME TWO (L, 5-4)

The Owls were unable to overcome late inning runs by Blue Mountain to fall 5-4 in game two.

The Owls held the lead of 3-1 until the top of the sixth inning as the Toppers scored three runs bringing the score to 4-3.

At the bottom of the sixth, Damain Benefield contributed a run with a homer for a score of 4-4. The Owls went scoreless in the seventh while Blue Mountain gained a run to take the victory.

At the plate, Luke Murphy led the Owls with a 2-for-4 appearance with one run, while Benefield recorded three RBIs and Peters tallied one.

Pitching the first five innings of the game was RJ Dell, who allowed three runs (two earned), two walks, one homer, and six strikeouts. Luke Hobson pitched 1.2 innings and was credited with the loss. The Ripley, Miss. Native allowed four hits against with two earned runs.

Coach Wolf’s Thoughts

“RJ Dell was really good for us again today. He pitched it really well, and he kept them off balance. It was a tough loss and I think there is a little thing here and there that we can learn from in this game. Overall, playing two one-run competitive games against a really good Blue Mountain team shows us that we’re heading in the right direction. They’ve beat some really good teams and I thought our guys stood toe to toe with them.”

UP NEXT
The Owls will travel on Wednesday, March 20 to face Stillman College. The first pitch of the matchup is set for 2 p.m.