Calmes leads UHSP to first-ever win over WWU; Game 2...just bananas

ALTON, IL – The Eutectics got their first-ever win over William Woods as Tristan Calmes went six strong innings striking out nine in the process to lead UHSP to a 3-2 triumph in game one of their Monday doubleheader. As for game two, well that was a little more unconventional. The Owls took a seemingly insurmountable 13-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh when the Eutectics started a seven-run uprising to tie the game at 13-13 and force extra innings. William Woods responded with a nine-run eighth to pull off a 22-13 win. The Owls ended up taking three of the four games in the series.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP 3, WILLIAM WOODS 2

• Malcolm Merriwether had as clutch a hit as you could have to open the scoring in the third. After Brandon Gibbs opened the inning being hit by a pitch and Holden Campbell hitting a single, three batters later Merriwether delivered a two-out, two-run single through the right side. The HBP by Gibbs allowed him to reach base safely for the 13^th time in the last 14 games.
• Gibbs extended his hitting streak to seven games with an infield hit that scored Caden Buxton who had reached on an error as UHSP took a 3-0 lead.
• Calmes (3-4) was tremendous in his outing as he pitched arguably his best outing of the season. Nine strikeouts is one shy of his season-high, but his career high is 12. He threw 126 pitches and gutted through six frames with his only two runs allowed (unearned) coming in the sixth. He only allowed four hits with his only real blemish being his five walks allowed.
• Holden Campbell threw a one-hit seventh to earn his first save of the season. He struck out one facing four batters in the final frame.
• AJ Vasquez did not exactly have a bad outing as he gave up three runs (two earned) over eight hits. He struck out four and did not allow a walk, he was just overshadowed by Calmes.
• Campbell and Buxton were each 2-for-3 in the game.
• Colby Caton was 2-for-4 for William Woods, but reigning AMC Freshman Player of the Year Kaden Kinsler was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
• UHSP had been 0-5 all-time against WWU prior to the win.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:

WILLIAM WOODS 22, UHSP 13 (8 INNINGS)

• Jacob Grim made his first start of the season after have thrown just 5.1 innings up to that point this season. Grim went four innings and struck out seven. After allowing just a third inning line-drive single off of his body through three, Grim ran into trouble in the fourth. Kinsler ended a string of being struck out five straight times with an RBI triple and Cade Irwin made it 3-0 with a two-run homerun.
• Grim put the Purple and Gold in front in the third with an RBI single to score Gibbs.
• Gibbs would single in a run in the fourth to make it eight straight games with a hit and 14 of the last 15 that he has reached safely.
• Deklan Riggs relieved Grim to start the fifth and faced only four batters without recording an out. Ryan Retone knocked a two-run single to chase Riggs. Campbell came on and Kinsler capped a five-run inning with a three-run homer, his 8^th of the year to give the Owls an 8-2 lead.
• UHSP scored four in a wild bottom of the fifth as Grim and Buxton both hit solo homeruns. For Grim, he tied Matthew McDonald for the team lead with five while for Buxton it was his third. Logan Stribling singled in a run and Gibbs doubled in another.
• It was 13-6 to the bottom of the seventh and things looked dire for the Eutectics. They sent 12 men to the plate, had five hits and tied the game at 13-13. Campbell walked with the bases loaded and Grim and Buxton each ripped two-run singles through the left side. Nolan Harding sent a liner to right center that Jude Gremillion tried to catch with a diving effort but could not come up with it allowing two to score as the Eutectics tied it with an incredible rally. Michael Morales was at third with two outs representing the winning run, but he was stranded there.
• Brayden Steves came on to start the eight, the sixth pitcher used on the day. Kinsler tripled and Jacob McWhirter singled all within Steves' first three pitches to reclaim the lead for WWU. In all, the Owls scored nine in the inning highlighted by a grand slam from McWhirter as he blasted a no-doubter off the scoreboard in right-center.
• The two teams combined for 35 runs, 28 hits, 11 extra-base hits, five homeruns, 12 pitchers, 21 walks and took three hours and 11 minutes.
• Evan Johnston (1-0) picked up the win going the final 1.2 innings. He gave two hits, walked and struck out one.
• Steves (0-3) suffered the loss allowing six of the nine runs in the 8^th. He yielded four hits and walked two while recording two outs.

NEXT UP:

The Eutectics (14-26, 9-19 AMC) will need to rest the bullpen after using seven pitchers in game two and nine on the day. They are off until the weekend when they play host to the Eagles of Williams Baptist (20-15, 11-13 AMC) on Friday and Saturday. Friday's games start at 4:00p, the Saturday doubleheader begins at 1:00p. It will be a key late-season series as the Eagles currently occupy the sixth spot in the race for a spot in the AMC Postseason Tournament. The top six clubs qualify for the tournament. UHSP is in seventh and two games behind WBU in the win column.