William Penn Athletics News–April 6
William Penn University Athletics
Crazy Ending Caps Statesmen Sweep of Grand View
Oskaloosa–On a day that proved a big offensive output is not the only way to win on the diamond, the William Penn baseball team almost wasted a huge lead to sweep Grand View in a Midwest Collegiate Conference twinbill Sunday.
The Statesmen (18-10, 5-5 MCC) won by scores of 5-2 and 6-5.
WPU was outhit 7-6 in the opener, but actually tallied most of its runs without too much help from its bats. Already down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, the navy and gold answered with four runs on only three hits. Sho Serrano (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Physical Education) knotted the contest on a wild pitch and Patrick Roxbury (Jr., Canyon Country, Calif., Sociology) put the hosts ahead for good by singling in Kyle Mauricio (Sr., Ardene Hills, Minn., Physical Education).
A sacrifice bunt by Enrique Alvarado (Sr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology) brought around Stan Simmons (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Physical Education) and pinchrunner Collin Schulz (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Undecided) also touched home plate on a single via Matt Emerson (Jr., Saugus, Calif., Business Management).
The advantage grew to four at 5-1 in the second when Mauricio joined Serrano by scoring on another wild pitch.
That was enough for Jon Davis (Jr., Hayward, Calif., Undecided), who collected his first win (1-1) by permitting only two runs (both earned) on seven hits in six innings. The junior got into trouble in the seventh, leading Corey Lathram (Sr., Brentwood, Calif., Physical Education) to enter out of the bullpen. He picked up his second save of 2014 by shutting out the Vikings (14-12, 7-5 MCC), striking out one and walking one (no hits) in the final frame.
William Vazquez (Fr., North Hollywood, Calif., General Accounting) finished 2-for-3, while Mauricio walked twice in the first matchup.
William Penn dominated the first five innings of the nightcap, but had nothing to show for it. The Statesmen, who recorded seven hits, failed to bring anyone all the way around with 11 runners left on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the third and fourth.
On the other side, Matt Vasquez (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Business Management) no-hit the visitors through the first six frames. He allowed one baserunner with a hit-by-pitch, but retired him on a double play to face the minimum number of batters.
After 5 1/2 scoreless innings, runs were suddenly quite easy to come by in the bottom of the sixth. William Penn put six on the board, but its bats did very little of the work as the Statesmen had zero base knocks. Instead, WPU took advantage of four walks, four errors, and one hit batsman. Mauricio led off with a base on balls and eventually scored the game’s first run on a passed ball. That opened the flood gates as the eventual victors added five more runs.
A 6-0 edge in the seventh seemed almost unfair for Vasquez, but the lengthy rest he received may have actually been counter-productive as he gave up two hits and hit a Viking after an inning-opening strikeout. Vasquez (5-1) was eventually saddled with three earned runs allowed on two hits in 6 1/3 frames (3 Ks).
Lathram entered with William Penn still up 6-1, but struggled in finishing out the win. He got the home team one out closer to the end, but gave up two more runs (both earned) on two hits (one walk).
With WPU ahead 6-3, the senior was just inches from victory as he fielded a grounder down the first-base line. Unfortunately, miscommunication between Lathram and first baseman Kenny Hall (Jr., Morgan Hill, Calif., Exercise Science) led to neither player taking charge of the play and the Grand View player beating the ball to the bag.
Jacob Logan (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology) replaced Lathram, but also failed in his outing with GVU inching one run closer at 6-5 with the bases loaded. Kyle Maldonado (Jr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education), normally a starter who was expected to be unavailable Sunday due to injury, finally became the hero as he induced a game-inning groundout to Serrano at second base. Maldonado picked up his second save in the out.
Simmons topped the offensive effort by going 2-for-2 with two walks. Mauricio and Emerson each had a hit with two walks as well, while Serrano was 1-for-3 with a walk. William Penn outhit Grand View 7-5.
Next: William Penn travels to Davenport Tuesday to face St. Ambrose in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
Statesmen Hold Off Rival Vikings to Win Again
Riverside–The last week and a half has been quite enjoyable for the William Penn women’s golf team as it won yet another event at the Blue Top Ridge Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
The 23rd-ranked Statesmen were first out of nine teams with a two-day tally of 648 (331-317) at the par-72 Blue Top Ridge Golf Course. Grand View, which is unofficially 33rd nationally, made a push on Sunday, but WPU held off the Vikings by ten strokes (343-315–658). Blue Top Ridge is the host site of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships on April 28-29.
Maggie Yang (Jr., Chino, Calif., Business Management) and GVU’s Kenzie Rottinghaus both carded scores of 156, but it was Rottinghaus (80-76) who took home the gold by defeating Yang in a playoff (went to the second hole).
Yang, who posted a 79-77, was the only player in the 48-player field to post both rounds in the 70s. Demi Coertze (So., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) nearly made it a three-person playoff as her second-round 75 helped the sophomore to second place at 157 (82-75). Coertze’s 75 was the lowest round of the tournament.
“Maggie and Demi played well this weekend,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “They adapted well to challenges and paced our team nicely.”
Alexandria Eckenrod (Jr., Mason City, Iowa, Elementary Education) was next at 167 (84-83), while Courtney Cunningham (Fr., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) finished one shot behind her at 168 (86-82).
Jing Yang (Fr., Woodland Hills, Calif., Biology) concluded the varsity scoring at 177 (90-87).
“Picking up our third win in nine days was exactly the result we were seeking,” Rule said. “Blue Top Ridge is the course that our conference tournament will be held at and with the field in attendance it almost had a championship feel to it.”
“I like how we jumped out into a lead after day one although we did not play well, yet we know that if we play our game we will give ourselves a chance to win,” Rule added. “That is what we did on day two; we came out and played our game and shot a very respectable score, holding off a good day by one of our competitors.”
William Penn’s varsity reserve squad was also in competition, tying for fifth at 726 (367-359). Ashley Manhnieo (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) guided the squad at 175 (87-88), while Carly Schmalz (Fr., Buffalo Lake, Minn., History/Government) (92-84–176) and Natalie Booton (So., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education) (92-85–177) were right behind her. Lindsay Dorn (So., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Elementary Education) finished at 198 (96-102) and Alexi Rule (Fr., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Education) tallied a 202 (97-105).
“I am happy with the consistency throughout our lineup,” Rule said. “A lot of players are beginning to lower their scores. We will get back to work this week with a major emphasis on our short game as we look forward to a good week of practice.”
Next: William Penn has a week off before returning to action next Monday and Tuesday, April 14-15 by traveling to Booneville, Mo. to compete in the Central Methodist Open. The two-round event will be contested at Hail Ridge Golf Course.
WPU Swept by Mount Mercy on Road
Cedar Rapids–Three weeks ago, the Statesmen softball team knocked off Mount Mercy at home, but Sunday the Mustangs held serve at their own friendly confines as WPU was swept in Midwest Collegiate Conference action.
William Penn (20-11, 8-4 MCC) lost by scores of 9-7 and 4-3.
While it is possible the navy and gold’s eight-game week finally wore down the squad, that was not the case early as sisters Malloree Grove (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, Physical Education) and Brittanee Grove (Jr., Runnells, Iowa, Elementary Education) each had doubles in a two-run first inning.
The Mustangs (12-13, 2-6 MCC) answered right back, though, against Jennifer Whitehead (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) with three runs in the bottom of the first. The visitors knotted things up at 3-3 with a second-inning RBI single by Sydney Edwards (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology & Biology), but MMU kept coming.
Whitehead continued to struggle, and midway through a four-run third frame she was replaced by Lunden Young (Jr., Lewiston, Idaho, Physical Education). The senior permitted six runs (four earned) on just three hits in 2 1/3 innings (2 K, 2 BB).
Young kept her squad close, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits over the ensuing 3 2/3 innings (4 K, 1 BB).
A pair of Mount Mercy errors assisted WPU to its fourth run, but two home scores in the sixth made it 9-4 entering the seventh. The Statesmen fortunately still had some fight left, recording four of their eight base knocks in the final frame. Jessica Christensen (So., Marysville, Wash., Sociology) managed an RBI single and Bri Zerley (Jr., Monroe, Iowa, Biology) brought in two more on a double to narrow the deficit to 9-7.
William Penn loaded the bases with two more walks, but unfortunately could not bring any more runs across in the setback.
Edwards and Malloree Grove paced the offense as both went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Zerley had two RBIs, while Steviee Grove (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, History/Government) reached base twice on walks. The Statesmen failed to take advantage of five Mustang errors.
Steviee Grove put WPU out ahead first in the nightcap as well as she cleared the fence in the second inning with her first home run of the season.
Mount Mercy responded in the fourth with three runs, but Brittanee Grove powered the navy and gold back into a 3-3 tie with a solo home run (her team-best tenth) in the sixth.
Brittanee Grove, who had two of her team’s four base knocks, and Young were solid hurlers in the first five-plus innings of game two, but Whitehead was brought in out of the bullpen to close things out. Unfortunately, she had issues with control in the seventh and the home team scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.
Brittanee Grove allowed one run (earned) on three hits in two innings (2 K, 2 BB), while Young went three frames and gave up two runs (both earned) on three hits (4 K). Whitehead, who is now 13-4, allowed one unearned run in one inning (1 K, 2 BB)
Next: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Tuesday to host AIB in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m.
