The William Woods Owls concluded their regular season Friday, sweeping an American Midwest Conference doubleheader against the Williams Baptist Eagles by scores of 11-6 and 5-4 at Owls Field.
The wins wrap up the Owls' four-game sweep of the Eagles. William Woods heads into the postseason winning 10 of its last 12 games.
In Game 1, Easton Wallace and Bryson Matthews each hit RBI doubles in the first inning for the Owls, then Marcus Gonzalez belted a two-run homer in the second to put William Woods ahead 4-1.
Williams Baptist answered with four runs in the third inning to take a one-run lead, but William Woods responded with six runs in the bottom half of the inning. Wallace capped the inning with a two-run single, as the Owls led 10-5 through three innings.
Gonzalez and Wallace each drove in three runs, while Wallace and Alex Wimer each finished with two hits for William Woods.
Ryan Long was the winning pitcher in the opener. In five innings, he allowed six runs (two earned) on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Kaleby Haley and Owen Tripp each followed with a scoreless inning of relief in the seven-inning game.
William Woods won Game 2 in walk-off fashion.
With the score tied at 4 entering the bottom of the ninth, Wimer drew a walk, then Jack Niggemeier and Gonzalez were each hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a strikeout to pull the Eagles within one out of forcing extra innings, Chase Gibson singled to left field, scoring Wimer to win the game.
Alex Owens hit a two-run double in the bottom of the first to put the Owls ahead 3-0, then Gonzalez hit an RBI double in the second to make it a four-run lead.
Williams Baptist answered with runs in the third and fourth innings, then extended the game with two more runs in the ninth.
Gonzalez, Owens and Niggemeier each had two hits for William Woods.
Brock Glavey struck out three and allowed two runs in five innings as the starter. Andrew Fyffe followed with two strikeouts in 3 innings, while Max Storch closed the top of the ninth for the Owls to get credited with the win.
William Woods (22-15, 15-11 AMC) will learn its seed later today in the AMC Tournament, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday at CarShield Field in O'Fallon. The Owls are currently third out of eight teams in the conference standings.