After Opening Loss, Statesmen Surge Past Grand View in Five-Inning Victory
Des Moines — The Statesmen softball team traveled to Grand View on Friday for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Vikings.
GVU 4, WPU 0
All four of the runs in the first contest were scored in the fourth inning, as Grand View held on the rest of the way to win 4-0.
On the mound, Tori Smith (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Secondary Education) delivered a complete-game for William Penn, recording two strikeouts.
While the Statesmen struggled at the plate, Tori Smith recorded a double, and Mckenna Vasser (Rochester, Wash., Business Management) added a base hit.
WPU 13, GVU 4
Game two told a completely different story for the Statesmen, as Laila Smith (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Elementary Education) jumpstarted the offense with a three-run home run in the top of the first inning, bringing home Laila Gutierrez (Jr., Seminole, Texas, Business Management) and Marin Frazee (Jr., Sioux City, Exercise Science).
Grand View responded with a home run in the first inning, cutting William Penn’s lead to 3–2 heading into the second.
In the top of the first, Laila Gutierrez doubled down the left-field line, driving in Austin Hitchner (Fr., McKenna, Wash., Secondary Education) to give the Statesmen a two-run lead.
Leah Conlon (Fr., Sioux City, Exercise Science) followed with a single up the middle, plating Marin Frazee and Laila Gutierrez to extend William Penn’s advantage to 6–2.
Laila Gutierrez’s standout performance continued in the top of the third inning, as she connected on a two-RBI single to the left side, bringing home Marin Frazee and Austin Hitchner to push the Statesmen ahead 8–2.
The Vikings added two runs in the bottom of the third, cutting the Statesmen’s lead to 8–4.
The navy and gold tallied four runs in the top of the fourth, with Leah Conlon and Tori Smith each hitting solo home runs to put the Statesmen ahead 10–4. Mckenna Vasser kept the rally going with an RBI single to the right side, sending Rylee Riesberg (Jr., Ankeny, Iowa, Exercise Science) home. Laila Gutierrez added her third RBI of the day, drawing a walk that brought Austin Hitchner in from third, stretching the WPU lead to 12–4.
Tori Smith put another ball over the fence in the top of the fifth, the solo shot widened the WPU advantage to 13-4.
William Penn would take game two 13-4 in five innings.
Shannon Van Rheenen (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Nursing) earned the win in game two, delivering a complete-game performance for the Statesmen.
At the plate, WPU powered four home runs in the game—Tori Smith hit two, while Laila Smith and Leah Conlon each added one. The team posted 12 RBIs, with Laila Gutierrez, Laila Smith, and Leah Conlon each driving in three, Tori Smith adding two, and Mckenna Vasser contributing one. The Statesmen also recorded two doubles, credited to Marin Frazee and Laila Gutierrez.
Up Next: WPU returns to Oskaloosa for a Heart doubleheader against Graceland, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
