Leavenworth, Kan.—

Game One:

A dominant start from Moises Soriano and big hits from the middle of the lineup lifted the Spires to a 4-0 victory over non-con opponent William Woods (Mo.) in a seven-inning contest in game one on Saturday afternoon in Leavenworth.

The decisive stretch came in the third and fourth innings, when the Spires struck for all four of their runs. In the third, Saint Mary broke a scoreless tie as Tannen Buss delivered a two-run single to center, driving in Sergio Fierro and Bryce Turner to give the Spires a 2-0 lead. An inning later, Ben Brandt jump-started another rally with a lead off double to right, setting the table for Turner, who lined a two-RBI single to center and moved to second on the throw to push the advantage to 4-0.

The offensive boom was more than enough support for Soriano, who turned in six shutout innings as the USM starter. The right-hander scattered three hits, struck out three and walked one over 6.0 innings. Soriano kept WWU off balance throughout, allowing only a handful of base runners and never letting the Owls mount a sustained threat.

The Spire pitching staff completed the combined shutout with a scoreless seventh, finishing a day in which Spires pitchers allowed just four hits, walked two and struck out four over 7.0 innings. William Woods' only extra-base hit came in the seventh, when Jackson Kirn doubled to center, but the Owls still came up empty as the final Saint Mary reliever, Gabe Olguin, closed the door for his team.

Offensively, the Spires compiled nine hits and produced largely in the middle of the order. Buss led the way with a perfect 3-for-3 performance and a game-high two RBIs, providing the early breakthrough in the third. Turner added two hits in four at-bats and matched Buss with two RBIs on his fourth-inning single. Brandt finished 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored as Saint Mary consistently applied pressure, leaving seven runners on base but capitalizing when they needed it most.

William Woods finished with four hits and no errors but stranded five runners and could not cash in against the Spires' staff. Owls pitchers allowed four runs on nine hits over 6.0 innings, walking three and striking out four on 88 pitches, but the early two-inning tally by USM proved too much to overcome.

Game Two:

The second game of today's double header would sing a different tune, with the Spires falling 1-11 to the Owls. A six-run fifth inning by William Woods (Mo.) proved deadly for USM as the Owls turned a 2-1 game into a commanding lead with the big frame and limited the Spires to four hits while allowing only an unearned run.

USM answered an early punch to keep things tight through the first inning. After Woods opened the scoring in the top of the first on a Kaden Kinsler RBI single following a hit-by-pitch, the Spires responded in the bottom half. Bryce Turner came around to score on a Saint Mary rally, and John Caime delivered a single to right that brought in the tying run, with Turner crossing on a throwing error to make it 1-1.

The game remained within reach until the middle innings, when the Owls steadily applied pressure. WWU added a run in the second to go back in front and then broke the game open in the fifth. A sequence of singles, walks and a passed ball set the table for a six-run outburst that pushed the margin to 8-1. Aidan Gaither contributed an RBI single, and Camron Casso capped the inning with a two-RBI single as the Owls took over on the Spires turf.

William Woods continued to add on late. In the sixth, Casso again came through, singling to left-center to plate two more runs and extend the lead to 10-1. In the seventh, Rainey doubled to left to drive in another run, finishing the scoring at 11-1 and enforcing the run rule after seven innings.

Offensively, USM finished with one run on four hits and left six runners on base. Caime led the way with the RBI single in the first, while the Spires worked two walks and were hit by a pitch once but were unable to string together sustained offense against steady William Woods pitching staff. On the mound, USM pitchers fought through heavy traffic as Woods totaled 13 hits and drew six walks.
William Woods was paced by Casso, who reached base four times and finished with three hits, four RBIs, two runs scored, a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base. Gaither added two hits, three runs and an RBI, while Rainey chipped in a run-scoring double and two walks.

The Spires will get another shot tomorrow, Sunday, March 8^th in the final double header of the series versus WWU. First pitch in game one is slated for noon with game two to follow upon completion.