The USF baseball squad's struggles at the plate continued on Friday as the Cougars suffered a doubleheader road sweep at the hands of William Jewell College. WJC won the opener, 3-0, before coming back for a 4-1 win in the nightcap. The teams continue their four-game series with a twinbill on Saturday, starting at noon.
USF falls to 2-10 overall, while the Cardinals improve to 6-4 on the season with the sweep.
In the opener, William Jewell drove in the first run of the game on a ground out to second in the bottom of the first inning.
The Cougars looked to have something brewing in the top of the second when Noah Coleman drew a two-out walk and advanced to second on a single by Brandon Madsen, but the threat was extinguished when Coleman was picked off on the next pitch.
William Jewell inflicted the rest of the damage in the third inning. With Cardinals on first and second after a hit by pitch, stolen base and walk, Tom Herrera notched a long single to make it 3-0.
USF's Austin Goodenow provided a one-out single in the third, but was stranded after a pair of fly-outs.
David Collins was nearly perfect for WJC, allowing no runs on two hits with nine strikeouts and a walk in the complete game victory.
Brady Nolz (0-2) took the loss for the Cougars. The senior righty finished his afternoon with four strikeouts in six innings against three runs, four hits and three walks.
In the nightcap, USF matched their hosts with six total hits, but William Jewell scored three runs in the third and added on in the sixth to pull away for the 4-1 win.
After two scoreless innings, the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead in the third as they parlayed a pair of doubles and a hit by pitch into three runs.
USF, which left five runners on base in the game, scratched for a run in the fourth as Anthony Williams stole second after a lead-off single and was brought home on a keystone hit by Brennden Ward.
William Jewell manufactured a run the sixth third inning as Tommy Thorton drew a lead-off walk, was sacrificed to second and scored when Kaleb Shaw delivered a one-run single for a 4-1 margin.
Freshman southpaw Preston Felgate earned the win for WJC, giving up one run on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Cardinal reliever Blaze Carano went three up, three down in the seventh to also keep the Cougars in check.
Noah Coleman (0-2) took the loss on the mound, allowing three runs in four innings with three strikeouts against five hits. Chris Nichols tossed 1.2 innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit with two walks and a strikeout. Southpaw Andrew Christensen recorded the last out for the Cougars.
Williams led the Cougar offense, going 2-for-3 in the game with a run scored. Brennden Ward posted his first RBI of the season while Austin Goodenow, Zach Ireland and Brandon Madsen each had one hit apiece.
