Lady Statesmen Shut Out Again at Nationals

Grinnell College Athletics

Gulf Shores, Ala.–A much-improved effort unfortunately still left the William Penn softball team on the short end in a 2-0 loss to #9 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) at the NAIA Softball National Championships Friday.

The loss prevents the Lady Statesmen (46-18) from advancing to next week’s double-elimination bracket tournament. #17 Auburn Montgomery, William Penn’s opponent on Saturday (9 a.m.), claimed Pool H with a 2-0 win over #8 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) earlier Friday. Fans can listen to the WPU-AUM game on KBOE 740 AM or on the web by going to http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/kboe.portal#

The Tigers (54-8) got on the board immediately with a run in the first and carried that advantage until the sixth frame when they tacked on an insurance run.

The navy and gold had plenty of chances to score as well, outhitting ONU 6-4. The Lady Statesmen were unable to produce the timely hits, however, leaving a total of eight runners on base, including two in the fourth and sixth. The most notable offense came in the sixth, though, when William Penn loaded the bases, but failed to come away with a tally.

Jennifer Whitehead (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) had a few control issues (3 HBP, 2 BB), but overall had a productive outing. The sophomore (24-12) struck out five in the loss.

Highlighted by a fifth-inning double, Mikayla Djordjevic (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., NW Career and Tech Academy) matched Ashley Stream (Sr., Chariton, Chariton HS) with a 2-for-3 showing. Khyia Lewis (Sr., Ottumwa, Ottumwa HS) and Brittni Reyes (Sr., Vacaville, Calif., Solano CC) also managed a base knock.