Statesmen Complete Four Game Sweep of Grand View
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team was searching for the sweep on Sunday as they had another doubleheader against the Grand View Vikings.
At the conclusion of play, they would indeed find their sweep as they took both games against their rivals by scores of 9-5 and 12-2. The victories pushed the Statesmen to 18-5 overall and 7-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
WPU 9 GVU 5
Things weren’t looking great for the Statesmen early on as the Vikings jumped on starting pitcher Teddy Natter (Jr., Reno, Nev., Sports Management) for three runs in the first two innings. They added two more in the top of the fourth inning to take an early 5-0 lead.
The offense came back to life in the bottom of the fourth, but it was heavily aided by Grand View pitching. Tanner Bedier (So., Bondurant, Iowa, Sports Management) was hit by a pitch to begin the inning, and then Jarrett Hunt (Sr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communications) was beaned to follow. Dominic Bravo (Sr., Downey, Calif., Digital Communications) ripped a single into left to put the Statesmen on the board, then Soren Graversen (Jr, Calgary, Alberta, Human Services) was also given a free pass the hard way. That made three of the first four batters reaching base via hit by pitch. Two wild pitches allowed Hunt and Bravo to score, and a balk let Graversen trot home at his own leisure. Jaylan Jones (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Sociology) stepped up with two outs and ripped a double deep into left center field to tie the game at five.
A single from Bedier and another hit by pitch from Hunt set the stage for Bravo, who ripped his second consecutive RBI single to left field to drive in Bedier and give the Statesmen the lead. The navy and gold added two more in the inning to extend the lead to three, and Hunt tacked on an insurance run in the sixth to push the game to its final score of 9-5.
Natter earned the victory to improve his record on the year to 5-0. He worked 6.1 innings allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks, striking out six. Stetson Denning (So., Queen Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) closed out the last two batters of the game.
Bedier and Bravo turned in multi hit performances, and the top six hitters in the lineup all scored. Bedier, Hunt, and Alex Fisher (Jr., Sydney, Australia, Biology) all scored twice each.
WPU 12 GVU 2
Two doubles in the first inning had the Vikings on the verge of taking the first lead of the game for the fourth time in the series, but Brian Thomas (Fr., Shingle Springs, Calif.) beared down and struck out the next two batters to escape an early jam unscathed. The first five outs recorded by Thomas all came by way of the K.
Graversen led off the bottom of the second with a double in the gap, and Fisher reached on an infield single. A wild throw from the second baseman allowed Graversen to score on the play as well. A sacrifice fly from Dillan Schrock (Fr., Shingle Springs, Calif., Sociology) extended the lead to two. Bedier singled to center to drive in two more, and the Statesmen finished the inning leading 5-0.
Already holding a strong lead, the bats kept pouring it on in the third. Graversen beat out an infield single to the shortstop to lead off the inning. Up stepped Fisher, who blasted one over the right center field fence to extend the lead to seven, his first home run of the year. The Statesmen tallied four more runs in the inning to take a commanding 11-0 lead. They added one more in the fourth to conclude their scoring for the afternoon, eventually completing the sweep with a 12-2 victory over Grand View.
Thomas worked five strong innings in the contest. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks, fanning eight in the process. Ty Harter (Fr., Galesburg, Ill.) pitched the last two innings, allowing only one hit in his two shutout frames.
The Statesmen recorded 11 hits as a team, and all 11 hits came from five players. Bedier, Fisher, Jameson Hart (Sr., Sarnia, Ontario, Sports Management), and Franklin Aparicio (So., Panama City, Panama) each tallied two, and Graversen led the way with a three-hit game. Bedier drove in three in the nightcap, while Fisher and Schrock each had two RBI to their credit.
What’s Next: The Statesmen travel to Peosta, Iowa next weekend to take on the Pride of Clarke in Heart action.
