William Penn Sweeps Mount Mercy to Begin MCC Season
William Penn Women's Athletics
Cedar Rapids–The Lady Statesmen diamond stars picked up a pair of road wins over Mount Mercy to open Midwest Collegiate Conference action Wednesday.
William Penn (14-10, 2-0 MCC) won by scores of 1-0 and 7-4 (9 innings).
In a great pitcher’s duel that contained just five hits (3-2 WPU), Brianne Rowley (Sr., Hood River, Ore., Blue Mountain CC) tallied the only run when she cleared the center field fence with her fourth home run of the campaign.
Ashley Stream (Sr., Chariton, Chariton HS) was stranded at third base in the second frame as the only other Lady Statesmen athlete to reach scoring position. Stream led the offense by finishing 2-for-3.
Jennifer Whitehead (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) is quickly returning to her 2011 MCC Pitcher of the Year form, limiting the Mustangs to only two base knocks. The sophomore (5-6) struck out nine against three walks in her first shutout of 2012.
The Mustangs (4-3, 0-2 MCC) put a pair of runners on base with two outs in the seventh. The game closed with a strange play in favor of William Penn, though, as Mount Mercy was called out for a lineup error.
The nightcap had considerably more plate production with 23 combined hits (12-11 WPU).
William Penn jumped on top in the first as Rowley doubled to plate Molly Miller (Jr., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS), who reached on an error. In the next at-bat, Khyia Lewis (Sr., Ottumwa, Ottumwa HS) singled to bring in Rowley.
The hosts knotted up the contest with two of their own in the second. The third inning witnessed the navy and gold going back ahead on a Stream one-bagger that scored Rowley.
Unfortunately, Mount Mercy rallied with two runs in the fourth to take its first lead of the day at 4-3.
With its proverbial back to the wall, William Penn tied the contest at 4-4 in the seventh as Miller touched home plate one more time.
The Mustangs failed to score in the bottom half and extra frames ensued. Neither team tallied a run in the eighth, but then the game was blown wide open in the ninth with three visiting runs.
Miller and Rowley singled to start the frame and both scored on a bunt single by Stream. Stream then concluded the scoring on a double by Athena Rosario (Sr., Bremerton, Wash., Olympic CC).
Mount Mercy went down in order in the bottom half as Amber Daly (Sr., Napa, Calif., Solano CC) completed a tremendous relief outing. The senior, who is now 4-2, shut out the home squad by giving up just five hits over six innings.
Rowley led a group of four players who had big performances. The senior was 3-for-4 with three runs and an RBI, while Miller was 3-for-5 with three runs scored as well.
Lewis and Stream each had two hits in four tries in addition to two RBIs. Stream also rounded the bases once.
The Lady Statesmen overcame a three-error showing, while the Mustangs had four fielding mistakes. Both teams left ten players on base.
Next: The Lady Statesmen return to Oskaloosa Sunday to host Ashford in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. The day will serve as Cancer Awareness Day as well.
