William Penn Drops to Consolation Bracket
William Penn Women's Athletics
Oskaloosa–The Lady Statesmen softball team made life considerably more difficult for itself Saturday in falling to Clarke 4-3 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference First Round Tournament.
In being upset by the #9 seed, top-seeded William Penn (34-15) will now have to win three games Sunday to take its ‘pod’, beginning with an elimination game against #6 seed Ashford (10-21) at noon. If they are victorious, the Lady Statesmen must then again meet the Crusaders (16-24) and win twice for the championship.
Fortunately, since it is the highest overall seed in the MCC, William Penn is assured of playing in Des Moines next weekend in the MCC Tournament Final Four.
Clarke, fresh off a 3-2 win over the Saints, carried its momentum into the William Penn matchup and put four on the board in the fifth inning.
In a sloppy game in which the squads combined for eight errors (four each), William Penn rallied back in the sixth.
Christine Gamble (Jr., Pahrump, Nev., Pahrump Valley HS) opened the frame with a walk and then slid into second base to break up a play to remain on the pads.
She was moved to third on another single before Molly Miller (So., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS) brought her, Andrea Rensberger (Sr., Sioux City, Sioux City North HS), and Ashley Nieto (Jr., Cement City, Mich., Jackson CC) home on a bases-clearing double. Miller was thrown out in an attempt to extend the double to a triple.
Brianne Rowley (Jr., Hood River, Ore., Blue Mountain CC) tried to keep the inning alive with a single, but she was stranded at first. The Lady Statesmen went down in order in the seventh to complete the upset.
The home team was outhit 5-4 with four different players collecting a base knock.
The fifth inning was unfortunately too much for Jennifer Whitehead (Fr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) as she fell to 20-8 this year. The freshman allowed four runs (all earned) on five hits. She struck out three and walked three.
