William Penn Closes 2012 with Loss to Mustangs
William Penn University Athletics
Peosta–The Statesmen baseball team started well Wednesday, but it could not hold its early lead, ending the 2012 season with a 9-2 loss to Mount Mercy at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament.
William Penn ends the year at 20-26, while Mount Mercy (27-25) moves on to play St. Ambrose Wednesday night.
The navy and gold took the day’s first advantage, putting two on the board in the second. Brad Chin (Sr., San Rafael, Calif., San Rafael HS) tripled home Evelio Ahumada (Sr., Hacienda Heights, Calif., Citrus CC), while Tony Mancuso (Sr., Covina, Calif., Citrus CC) brought in Chin on a single.
Despite matching #3 seed Mount Mercy with nine hits, no more runs came across for William Penn. The Statesmen left nine runners on base, while the Mustangs scored nine unanswered, including five in the sixth frame.
The #5 seed put two runners on base in the sixth and ninth, but failed to cut into the deficit.
Chin, Mancuso, and Randall Packard (Sr., Forestville, Calif., Cal State-Monterey) all finished with two hits.
David Ness (Sr., Purcellville, Va., Frederick CC) started the final contest of his collegiate career and struck out five in 5 1/3 frames. Ness ends 2012 with a 6-5 mark.
Fellow senior Steve Enriquez (Castro Valley, Calif., Laney CC) tossed 2/3 of an inning (one strikeout), while Danny Erece (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Southwestern CC) retired two Mustangs on strikes in two frames.
The loss ends the careers of 13 seniors, including Ahumada, Chin, Jonathan Davis (San Diego, Calif., Southwestern CC), Enriquez, Nick Kirby (Palmdale, Calif., Antelope Valley CC), Aaron Laird (Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS), Devin Lange (Tucson, Ariz., Paradise Valley CC), Mancuso, Stanley Muller (Tucson, Ariz., Cochise CC), Ness, Packard, Garrett Ramsey (Eureka, Kan., Highland CC), and Daniel Wehr (Sigourney, Sigourney HS).
