Statesmen Outslug Doane to Take Three Games
Lincoln, Neb.—Due to weather, Statesmen Baseball was forced to head west for sunnier skies as they took on Doane in Lincoln, Nebraska instead of playing their four scheduled games in Joplin this past weekend.
William Penn showcased its power over the weekend, outslugging Doane to take three out of the four games. The navy and gold outscored the Tigers 40-28.
WPU 13, DU 3
William Penn wasted very little time breaking things open in game one. After grabbing a 1-0 lead in the first, the bats got hot in the second putting up four runs then following that up with a three-run third. The Tigers attempted to claw out of an 8-0 deficit, scratching for three runs over the fourth and fifth innings but the Statesmen put the game out of reach in the sixth as they plated four more runs on their way to victory.
WPU collected 11 hits, three of which came from longballs off the bats of Tanner Bedier (So., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management), Alex Fisher (Jr., Sydney, Aus., Biology), and Soren Graversen (Jr., Calgary, Alberta, Human Services). Fisher finished 2-4 with four RBI’s, Bedier was 2-5, Jameson Hart (Jr., Sarnia, Ontario, Sports Management) was 2-4, and Dominic Bravo (Sr., Downey, Calif., Digital Communication) was 2-4 to round out the multi-hit performances.
Chase Stratton (Sr., Clearfield, Utah, Sports Management) took to his normal routine getting the game one start and was brilliant. The senior completed his first game of the season, while allowing three runs on six hits and striking out nine on the way to improving to 2-0 on the season.
DU 7, WPU 6
Things were not as easy for the Statesmen in game one as they were in game two as the Tigers struck back to take the win and even the series at 1-1.
Doane jumped on the Statesmen early, grabbing a 2-0 lead in the first. WPU responded with a pair of their own in the third but it was short-lived as the home squad pushed across another in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. Doane extended its lead to 6-2 in the fourth but William Penn wasn’t going to go down without a fight as they scored four runs in the fifth to tie it up, 6-6. Unfortunately, the bats went uncharacteristically cold over the final two frames while Doane was able to score one in the bottom of the sixth to secure the win.
Bedier was the only Statesmen to log a multi-hit game as he did so going 2-3 with a home run and two RBI’s. Graversen also had a pair of RBI’s on a double as he finished 1-3.
Jacob Wiechmann (Jr., Santa Cruz, Calif., Computer Science) stepped up for the Statesmen out of the bullpen as threw 2 1/3 innings, surrendering no earned runs and striking out a pair.
WPU 13, DU 11
The offense was aplenty for both sides on Sunday as William Penn managed to overcome a big deficit to clip the Tigers 13-11.
The Statesmen struck first as Hart continued his big weekend with a two-run home run with two outs in the first driving in Fisher. Doane came back in the bottom of the second inning to string together their best offensive rally, scoring eight runs on eight hits to take a commanding 8-2 lead. After a couple of scoreless frames for both sides, William Penn scratched a run across in the fourth courtesy of a double to left off the bat of Snaider Torrealba (Sr., Barquisimeto, Ven., Sports Management), scoring Hunt and trimming the deficit to 8-3. The visiting squad made its way all the back and then some as they took a 9-8 lead in the fifth as the Doane pitching staff had a tough time finding the strike zone, walking in five runs and hitting a batter to force in a run. After Doane retook the lead in the bottom of the inning, scoring three, WPU scored four over the final two frames, highlighted by a go-ahead two-RBI double off the bat of Jarrett Hunt (Sr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communication) to complete the come-from-behind victory.
Hart finished 2-4 with a homer and three RBI’s, Torrealba finished 2-4 with a double and three RBI’s, and Hunt was 2-3 with a pair of RBI’s. Jaylan Jones (So., Otuumwa, Iowa, Sociology) received his first start of the season and he delivered collected two hits in four at-bats, while Jake Vernon (Sr., Elkhart, Ind., Interdisciplinary Studies) logged a single and two RBI’s.
Stetson Denning (So., Queen Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) picked up the win out of the bullpen following a performance of 4 2/3 innings, giving up one earned run on five hits and striking out six. Tyler Gregory (Jr., Peoria, Illinois, Exercise Science) picked up his second save of the season, throwing a scoreless seventh.
WPU 8, DU 7
Following a dramatic victory, William Penn was once again thrust into another close one as they edged Doane 8-7.
Fisher got the bats going as he led off the game with a triple to right-center field and was driven in a couple of batters later as Hunt beat out an infield single. Hunt stole second to put himself in scoring position but it wouldn’t matter as Hart drove a pitch over the center field wall to put the Statesmen up 3-0. Doane responded with four unanswered runs as they took a 4-0 lead into the fifth. In the top of the fifth, the Statesmen struck for five runs, highlighted by a Fisher two-RBI single, scoring Carson Hauk (Fr., Lubbock, Texas) and Cassian Castillo (Sr., San Leandro, Calif., Business Management) to put them up 8-4. The Tigers closed the gap in the bottom half of the inning plating a pair. Heading into the final half-inning, William Penn held an 8-6 lead. Hart was called upon out of the bullpen to lock down the save and ultimately got the job done, skating out of danger as the Tigers were threatening.
Hart was 2-4 with a home run and three RBI’s while Fisher was 2-3 and two RBI.
Gregory returned to start game four after picking up the save in game three. The junior lasted four innings while giving up four earned runs while striking out four.
Next Up: William Penn will travel to Joplin, Missouri to take on Morningside next Friday at 2:30 pm.
