Clarke Sweeps Statesmen in Rescheduled Double Dip
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn softball team walked off the diamond Wednesday night hoping that its next action will bring better results as it was swept by Clarke in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.
WPU (13-12, 1-5 Heart) lost by scores of 5-0 and 8-4. The games were originally scheduled for March 11.
The hosts had little offensive success in the opener, producing just two hits, while CU (14-4, 6-2 Heart) pounded out nine. Michelle Castro (Fr., Acampo, Calif., Business Management) and Molly LaMotte (Sr., Enumclaw, Wash., Exercise Science) both notched a base knock in the setback.
Clarke scored first in the nightcap as well with one run in the top of the first, but the navy and gold finally snapped their scoreless streak with two in the bottom half. The initial run came when Chyanne Koko (Jr., Waianae, Hawaii, Physical Education) doubled in Kodee Johnson (Sr., Stockton, Calif., General Mathematics); Koko also touched the final base on a single via Kacey Lutz (Jr., Lodi, Calif., Business Management).
The visitors answered with two in the second, but the contest knotted up at 3-3 in the bottom part of the frame as Castro’s double plated LaMotte.
CU took the lead for good with two runs in the third and then tacked on an addition three tallies in the fourth to make it 8-3. WPU got one run back in the fifth with Lutz coming around on LaMotte’s single. The squad then gave the Crusaders a scare as it loaded the bases later in the inning, but failed to add any more runs.
Each team finished the contest with 10 hits as Lutz was 3-for-3 and LaMotte ended up 2-for-3. The Statesmen tried out three hurlers, but unfortunately all three had some struggles in the loss.
