Statesmen Open Final Series of Season with Sweep of GVU
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team kept its postseason hopes alive Thursday as it swept Grand View in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.
WPU (21-24, 13-17 Heart) won by scores of 6-4 and 5-3. The Statesmen are fighting for one of the final berths in next week’s Heart Championship.
The hosts, who posted a 10-9 edge in hits in the opener, got on the board right away with two runs in the first frame as Justin Martinez (Sr., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management) and Hector Dominguez (So., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) each recorded RBI singles.
Nick George (Sr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology) then made it 3-0 in the second when he sent a ball over the fence in left center for a solo home run.
The Vikings (23-20, 14-16 Heart), who are clinging to a postseason spot, answered with a two-run homer of their own in the third, but William Penn never gave up the lead. In fact, the navy and gold added to their margin in the fourth, courtesy of a run-scoring double by George and a single by Martinez that plated George.
George finished 2-for-3 (and a walk) with three runs and two RBIs, while Martinez was a perfect 2-for-2 at the dish (one walk as well) with a pair of RBIs.
After GVU climbed within two in the top of the fifth inning, Joel Holguin (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif., Sociology) drove in his squad’s final run in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly.
Abel Madueno (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif., Business Management) made sure the lead held up, going the distance and allowing just four runs on nine hits. The junior struck out six versus two walks for his team-best ninth win of the campaign.
Zach Otten (Jr., Mapleton, Ill.) had a solid contribution in the first outing as well by going 2-for-3.
Just as they did in the opener, the Statesmen put two runs on the board in the first inning of the nightcap as Dominguez and Aiden North (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) both produced RBI singles.
Held scoreless through its first three sets of at-bats, GVU eventually broke through in the fourth with three tallies to grab its first lead of the day at 3-2.
The Statesmen continued to trail by one run entering the sixth, but with one swing Martinez put his team on top for good with a three-run roundtripper to left field.
Brian Thomas (Sr., Shingle Springs, Calif., Sports Management) secured the victory, matching Madueno with a complete game of his own. The senior allowed three runs on just five hits, while finishing with eight strikeouts (three walks).
WPU’s 7-5 edge in hits was paced by Martinez going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs. North had two hits in three at-bats, while Blair Speas (Jr., O’Fallon, Mo., New Media) and Dominguez both posted one base knock and one walk. Like Martinez, Speas also touched home plate twice.
“We got a couple of big pitching performances from Abel Madueno and Brian Thomas,” Head Coach Mike Laird said. “Obviously, that was a huge home run by Justin Martinez, while Nathan Jessell and Marco Ayala made several key defensive plays as well.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Grand View in a Heart doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The games will also serve as Senior Day.
