Statesmen Rally for Wild Win to Secure Split of Twinbill
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–On a day when a little of everything occurred, the William Penn baseball team split another Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader versus St. Ambrose Sunday.
The Statesmen (17-15, 7-7 MCC) lost the opener 12-5, but rallied to win 14-13 (8 innings) for the nightcap victory.
William Penn was up 4-1 after three innings in the first contest, assisted in large part to wild pitching by the visitors (six walks in the first three frames).
Unfortunately, a season-high seven errors allowed the Fighting Bees (9-19, 6-6 MCC) to come from behind for the win. Stan Simmons (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Physical Education) managed two RBIs in a matchup where the navy and gold were outhit 9-5.
Jayme Mueller (Sr., Mundelein, Ill., Sociology) was also 1-for-2 at the plate with two walks.
Starter Jared Shoning (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, Business Management), who only permitted two earned runs over five innings, struck out five in falling to 1-2.
Despite being outhit 15-10, the Statesmen produced their second-highest run total of the season in the second outing.
St. Ambrose put up four runs in the top of the second, but William Penn answered with ten of the next 12 runs. Brian Williams (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif., Physical Education) started it all with a two-run homer, his first of the campaign, in the bottom of the second.
The hosts added six more in the fourth, including two-run singles by Mueller and Kyle Mauricio (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn., Physical Education). Roy Perez (Jr., Avondale, Ariz., Physical Education) added another two-run single in the sixth.
The contest seemed relatively in hand with the Statesmen ahead 10-6 entering the seventh. The Fighting Bees thought otherwise, however, and posted seven runs to go up 13-10.
Refusing to wave the proverbial white flag, WPU tied the game back up in the bottom half. Mauricio notched yet another two-run single to force extras.
The visitors were kept off the board in the top of the eighth, and the navy and gold put a bow on the rally as Chris Redfern (Sr., Stratford, Ontario, Digital Communications) singled in pinchrunner Jacob Logan (So., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology).
Enrique Alvarado (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology) paced the offense with a 3-for-4, three-run performance, while Mauricio was 2-for-5 (four RBIs). Simmons and Austin Westercamp (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided) each rounded the bases twice. Mueller, Perez, Williams, and Redfern all finished with two RBIs.
Williams also struck out seven as the starting pitcher, but did not figure into the decision. Nathan Wood (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Business Management) earned the victory (1-0) with a scoreless eighth (one strikeout).
Next: William Penn remains at home next weekend to host Mount Mercy in a pair of MCC doubleheaders. The squads face off Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and again Sunday beginning at noon.
