William Penn Blasts MSOE and Martin Luther
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–Brian Williams (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif., Physical Education) had a memorable day, highlighted by a near no-hitter, to lead the Statesmen baseball team to a pair of lopsided wins in non-conference action Sunday.
William Penn (10-8) defeated Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) 11-0 and Martin Luther (Minn.) 10-3. One day after managing just ten hits, the navy and gold lit up opposing pitching for 29 hits.
The hosts outhit the Raiders (7-3) by a tally of 15-1 as Williams rolled through the MSOE lineup. The junior only struck out three (one walk), but did not permit a hit through six frames. Jake Ziel unfortunately finally broke through in the seventh with a lead-off single to the right-center gap. MSOE was shut down from there as Williams evened his record at 1-1.
The Statesmen offense was equally inept for the first four innings, tallying only two hits to that juncture. William Penn got going in a big way in the fifth, however, with three runs on four hits.
That was just a warm-up, though, as the Statesmen scored eight more runs in the sixth off nine base knocks.
Julio Riojas (Sr., Silvis, Ill., Physical Education) paced the offense with a 4-for-4, 3-RBI performance. Kyle Mauricio (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn., Physical Education), Enrique Alvarado (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology), and Chris Redfern (Sr., Stratford, Ontario, Digital Communication) all recorded two hits. Redfern, who hit a sixth-inning triple, matched Riojas with three RBIs.
Jayme Mueller (Sr., Mundelein, Ill., Sociology), with two walks, and Austin Westercamp (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided), as a pinchrunner, both scored twice as well.
The team’s momentum continued into its second contest as William Penn scored three times in the first and had a run in all but one inning. The Statesmen held a 14-4 edge in hits against Martin Luther (Minn.) (4-8).
The first four batters in the WPU lineup did most of the damage, finishing 9-for-15. Stan Simmons (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Physical Education) was the top Statesmen hitter, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Williams was not just spectacular on the mound Sunday, but also accomplished great things with his bat. The junior was 2-for-4 and led all players with three RBIs in the nightcap.
Mauricio, Mueller, and Nathan Wood (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Business Management) also all notched two hits with two runs scored.
Kyle Bixler (Jr., Columbia Heights, Minn., Psychology) gave up three runs (all earned) on three hits in 4 1/3 innings. The junior, who is now 3-0, struck out six, but struggled with control in walking seven. Corey Lathram (So., Brentwood, Calif., Physical Education) tallied four strikeouts in relief.
Next: Weather permitting, William Penn will remain at home Tuesday to host Simpson in a non-conference doubleheader at 4 p.m.
