Statesmen Settle for Split on Road
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Canton, Mo.— The William Penn University Statesmen (10-15, 3-7 Heart) traveled south for a pair of Heart of America Athletic Conference match-ups against the Culver-Stockton Wildcats (8-13, 4-4 Heart) on Friday.
WPU 7, CSC 3
The Statesmen called on D.J. Milam (SR/Lancaster, Calif.) to start on the hill for game one of the doubleheader and he answered the call by tossing a complete game en route to the victory. The senior allowed only three runs on eleven hits while striking out two and walking none.
A victim of poor run support his past couple of outings, Milam would get plenty of it in this start.
William Penn got on the board in the top of the second inning when Fabio Espinosa (JR/Minneapolis, Minn.) doubled down the left field line scoring Julian Villegas (SR/Wilmington, Calif.) tying the score at one.
Culver-Stockton would go on to score two runs in the third inning to give them a 3-1 lead.
The Statesmen would respond with a huge five run inning in the top of the fifth to give Milam all the support he would need. Tanner Hamblin (SO/Salem, Utah) led off the inning with a double down the right field line. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Espinosa knocked in Hamblin to cut the deficit to just one. Isaiah Almanza (JR/Deming, N.M.) would later reach on a single and Nick Worcester (SO/Bloomington, Ill.) would draw a walk to load the bases with two outs. Jared Goodman (SR/Huntington Beach, Calif.) proceeded to clear the bases with a three RBI double to put the Statesmen ahead 5-3. Philip Berman followed that with a knock, scoring Goodman.
William Penn would add an insurance run in the sixth to increase the lead to 7-3.
The home team would give a scare in the bottom of the seventh by stringing together three hits but the Statesmen were able to keep them from crossing the plate.
Espinosa finished the game with three hits, while Hamblin, Berman, and Almanza ended up with two apiece.
WPU 2, CSC 3
Game two was a pitching duel through and through but the Statesmen were unable to come out on top. Nick Seipel (SR/Rosemont, Minn.) pitched brilliantly going six innings, allowing only three runs on nine hits while striking out four.
The Statesmen and Wildcats would remained tied at one until the sixth when Villegas would put William Penn up by one on an RBI single which scored Hamblin.
Unfortunately for the Statesmen, the lead would not hold up very long as the Wildcats would score two runs to walk-off in the bottom of the seventh to take the win.
Villegas would finish with two hits, while Berman, Seth Reisbeck (JR/Meridian, Idaho), and Worcester each contributed a hit.
Next Up: William Penn and Culver-Stockton will resume the series on Sunday starting at 12 p.m. in Canton.
