William Penn Winless in Rough Weekend
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Elgin, Ill./Cedar Rapids–A hot Statesmen softball team was cooled off this weekend in dropping a pair of doubleheaders.
William Penn (23-13, 7-3 MCC) was swept by Judson (Ill.) in non-conference play Saturday, 7-4 and 12-2 (5 innings), and then fell 5-1 and 7-3 to Mount Mercy in Midwest Collegiate Conference action Sunday.
Judson 7, William Penn 4
The Statesmen got on the board in the first when Jessica Christensen (Fr., Marysville, Wash., Sociology) doubled home Ashlee Dennis (So., Loveland, Colo., Biology). The Eagles (27-9) answered right back, scoring five in a row to lead 5-1 entering the sixth.
Cassie Lohman (Sr., Burbank, Calif., Sociology) hit another double in the sixth to plate Bri Zerley (So., Monroe, Iowa, Biology), while Lohman then scored on a single by Sonia Ray (Jr., San Diego, Calif., Physical Education).
Judson added two insurance runs in the bottom half. The visitors recorded one more run in the seventh, but it was not enough to complete the rally. Christensen, who finished 3-for-4, recorded another double to bring home Molly Miller (Sr., Kalona, Iowa, Business Management).
William Penn owned a 10-7 edge in hits, but committed six errors in the loss. Miller and K.C. Routos (Sr., Newcastle, Wash., Physical Education) were both 2-for-4 in the opener.
Jennifer Whitehead (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) struck out seven against two walks in a losing cause.
Judson 12, William Penn 2
Defense again doomed the Statesmen in a lopsided nightcap setback. WPU committed five fielding miscues and was outhit 9-7. Judson scored four times in the first and then added eight more in the fourth.
Christensen finished 2-for-2 with an RBI, while Carly Land (Sr., Mission Viejo, Calif., Education) tallied four strikeouts against the Eagles.
Mount Mercy 5, William Penn 1
William Penn looked to Sunday as a day in which it could put some distance between it and the rest of the league. Grand View (8-3 MCC) had been swept by St. Ambrose, opening the door for the navy and gold, but the Statesmen failed to take advantage.
Routos put her squad up 1-0 in the first, touching the final base on a sacrifice fly by Zerley. Unfortunately, the rest of the matchup belonged to Mount Mercy (18-11, 6-3 MCC), which has now won eight in a row.
Miller was 2-for-3 (MMU held an 8-7 edge in hits), while Whitehead struggled in falling to 10-7. The junior posted two strikeouts, but walked four.
Mount Mercy 7, William Penn 3
Both sides finished with six hits, but the timely base knocks came off the bats of the hosts.
Down 3-0 entering the fourth, William Penn responded with three straight of its own. One of the Mustangs’ three errors allowed the Statesmen to get on the board in the fourth, while Dennis tied it up in the fifth by scoring on a Routos double. Ray also touched home in the fifth on another Mount Mercy fielding mistake.
The Mustangs still celebrated in the end, however, as they scored four times in the bottom of the fifth and were never threatened again.
Dennis was 2-for-3 and Land (13-6) finished with four strikeouts (three walks).
Next: William Penn travels to Davenport Wednesday to face St. Ambrose in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
