O'FALLON, Mo. – MBU Baseball (8-7, 1-1 AMC) earned a split on Friday afternoon with William Woods (8-4, 1-1 AMC) in the first two games of a four-game series. The Spartans and Owls will finish the series with two more on Monday afternoon in Fulton.
GAME ONE
The Spartans got off to a fast start with a run in the first inning of game one. A single by
Carter Mize drove in
Manny Garcia. William Woods would respond though with two of their own in the second inning.
The Spartans trailed 3-2 after a home run by
Treyton Steffler in the third and 4-3 after Steffler came around to score on a throwing error in the fifth. But Mo. Bap never could come up with the tying run and the Owls held on to win the seven-inning series opener.
GAME TWO
MBU jumped out in front again in game two when Steffler homered on the second pitch of the game.
Manny Garcia singled and came around to score on a double by
Adrian Gutierrez for an early 2-0 lead.
Again, William Woods quickly countered with three runs in the bottom of the first before Spartan starter
Billy Heil could get settled in. Once he did though, the former Clayton HS standout was dominant for seven innings. Heil struck out nine and allowed just three hits after the opening frame.
The Spartans tied the game at three in the fifth and then took the lead back in the sixth. It was a double by Garcia that scored
Donavon Murray in the fifth and a double by
Noah Hemphill in the sixth to bring in Gutierrez. Garcia powered the offense all day finishing game two 4-5 after going 2-4 in the opener.
Josh Sieglitz came on in relief of Heil in the eighth and worked out of a jam to preserve the lead. The Owls were down to their final two outs in the ninth but Alex Owens came through with a double off of Sieglitz to tie the game. Sieglitz was able to strand two WWU runners to send the game to extras.
The Spartans were not as keen to play bonus baseball. In the 10
th,
Kyle O'Brien led off with a single. After a hit by pitch and an intentional walk, the bases were loaded for
Hunter Hill and the senior delivered with a single to score two.
Despite another run from the Owls in the bottom of the inning, Sieglitz was able to preserve the win and earn the Spartans a split in the doubleheader.
REACTION FROM COACH USCHOLD
"Two great games… that was a playoff type feeling in March. We hung in there against a much-improved WWU team."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Spartans and Owls will complete the first AMC series of 2021 on Monday in Fulton. Friday's games were moved to CarShield Field in O'Fallon due to weather/field conditions on William Woods' campus. First pitch on Monday is set for 1 pm.
