Statesmen Swept in League Opener by #17 GVU

William Penn University Athletics

Des Moines–After dealing with several postponements, the William Penn softball team finally opened Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday, but could not pull the upsets as it was swept by #17 Grand View.

WPU (12-9, 0-2 Heart), which had not played since its spring break finale on March 8, fell by scores of 4-0 and 9-4.

The visitors were outhit just 7-6 in the first contest, but failed to bring any of those baserunners around in the shutout.

The Vikings (14-4, 2-0 Heart) got on the board right away with two runs in the first and then tacked on one more in both the fourth and sixth frames.

William Penn finally broke through in the opening inning of the nightcap, but witnessed Grand View answer immediately with two tallies in the bottom half. GVU would add five more runs before the navy and gold could cut into the deficit with a pair of runs in the fifth on a two-run double by Casey Tamanaha (Fr., Pamona, Calif., Sociology).

The Statesmen managed one more score in the seventh, but could not make up the difference in the end.

Chyanne Koko (Jr., Waianae, Hawaii, Physical Education) paced the hitters with a 3-for-4 outing, while Kodee Johnson (Sr., Stockton, Calif., General Mathematics) crossed the plate twice. William Penn was again narrowly outhit by GVU, this time 10-9.

Next Up: William Penn will return to Oskaloosa next Tuesday for its home opener, hosting Peru State in a Heart doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.