FULTON, Mo. – No. 20 Missouri Baptist University baseball defeated William Woods University in a doubleheader on the road to open a four-game set on Friday afternoon. With two more wins on Monday, the Spartans can claim the American Midwest Conference Regular Season Championship for a third consecutive year.  
 
Game One Recap
Missouri Baptist claimed game one with a 10-8 final score after narrowly avoiding an Owls comeback after they scored four runs in the seventh inning. Jakob Kouneski and Jayden Orozco drove in three runs each while starter Carter Sabol picked up his ninth win of the season, which leads the conference.
 
In total, Sabol went 6.1 innings while allowing six earned runs on eight hits and seven strikeouts. He tried to finish a complete game in the seventh, but a double, an error, and a single ended his day after 100 pitches.  
 
Kaden Kinsler welcomed a new pitcher to the game with a three-run home run to force Head Coach Eddie Uschold to make another change on the mound. Closing pitcher Zach Peters came in to earn the game's final two outs to give him his third save of the season.
 
The MBU offense scored seven runs over the first two innings. In the first, they scored four runs on four hits, including a two-run home run from Jayden Orozco that plated Cole Robinson. In the second, Robinson, Kouneski, and Orozco singled in one each to push their team ahead 7-2.
 
The Spartans then tallied one in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings before the bullpen avoided a complete collapse after WWU scored one in the sixth and four in the seventh to make the final score 10-8.
 
Winning Pitcher: Carter Sabol (9-1)
Losing Pitcher: Benton III (6-5)
Save: Zach Peters (3)
 
Batting Leaders
Jayden Orozco: 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, R, 2 BB
Jakob Kouneski: 1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI
 
Game Two Recap
Blayne Yarger was the talk of game two, slugging a home run in the second and sixth innings to give him 16 on the year and to lead a 10-3 MBU win in game two. Carlos Hidalgo also slugged a three-run home run in the first and Lucas Lefebvre went back-to-back with him on a solo bomb.
 
Gus Lucas toed the rubber for his fifth start of the year and improved to 4-0 in 2025 after four innings, three earned runs, three walks, and five strikeouts. JD Whitter came out of the bullpen in relief and hurled three shutout innings, allowing two hits with one strikeout.
 
Again, the offense jumped on the Owls' starter early, scoring six runs on four hits, including a pair of home runs. Yarger belted one out in the second inning, and Lefebvre picked up his second RBI with a single in the third to make it 8-3.
 
Yarger hit his second of the game in the sixth inning, which also scored Tyson Ludwig, before Whitter worked around a lead off double in the bottom half and closed out the 10-3 final with a 1-2-3 seventh.
 
Winning Pitcher: Gus Lucas (4-0)
Losing Pitcher: A. Vasquez (3-4)
 
Batting Leaders
Blayne Yarger: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
Carlos Hidalgo: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Lucas Lefebvre: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
 
Records:
No. 20 Missouri Baptist: 35-9, 29-5 AMC
William Woods: 28-18, 20-14 AMC
 
What's Next?
The Spartans will go for the AMC Regular Season Championship for the third consecutive year, needing to complete the sweep of the Owls on Monday, April 21. The first pitch is set for 4 p.m.
 
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