Rowley Homers Twice as William Penn Splits Twinbill with Ashford

Rowley being congratulated by her teammates after dinging a home run Sunday

Oskaloosa–Brianne Rowley (Sr., Hood River, Ore., Blue Mountain CC) cleared the fence twice Sunday afternoon, but some defensive struggles in the nightcap prevented the Lady Statesmen softball team from sweeping Ashford in Midwest Collegiate Conference play.

William Penn (15-11, 3-1 MCC) won the opener 3-1, but dropped the second game 8-4.

Rowley provided all the offense her team needed in the first contest, hitting a three-run home run in the first that also plated Ashlee Dennis (Fr., Loveland, Colo., Mountain View HS) and Molly Miller (Jr., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS).

The Saints (14-10, 2-2 MCC) answered with a run of their own in the second, but Jennifer Whitehead (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) evened her season mark at 6-6 by scattering eight hits in a one-run outing. The sophomore struck out four and walked one.

The navy and gold recorded seven hits, including two by Dennis.

The next matchup was a considerably messier for the hosts as they committed two errors and were outhit 10-7.

Dennis again put William Penn on the board first with a run in the first, scoring on a single by Khyia Lewis (Sr., Ottumwa, Ottumwa HS).

The advantage jumped to 2-0 in the second as KC Routos (Jr., Newcastle, Wash., Pierce CC) scored on passed ball.

Ashford finally broke through in the third with three runs against starting pitcher Amber Daly (Sr., Napa, Calif., Solano CC). The senior lasted four frames before being removed for teammate Nicole Danna (Jr., Boone, Iowa Central CC).

Rowley powered a solo shot over the left-center fence to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom half. The senior now leads William Penn with six roundtrippers.

The teams then exchanged runs in fourth with Cassie Lohman (So., Burbank, Calif., Providence HS) coming home on an RBI groundout by Rikki Picariello (Sr., Port Coquitlam, B.C., Olympic CC).

Unfortunately, the remainder of the afternoon belonged to the visitors. The Saints scored the final four runs against Danna and fellow relief pitcher Mariah Trujillo (Fr., Arvada, Colo., Arvada HS), including three in the sixth frame. Danna took the loss to fall to 5-3.

Ashley Kingery (Jr., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) led the offense with two hits.

Next: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Tuesday to host Grand View in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.