William Penn Splits Pair of Walk-Off Decisions to Open Florida Trip
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Clermont, Fla.–The Statesmen softball team came out on both sides of thrilling finishes as it began its spring break trip Saturday.
WPU (5-3) defeated Northwestern Ohio 6-5 in eight innings, but fell to Trinity International 1-0.
Sonia Reddy (Jr., Tracy, Calif., Exercise Science) scored the day’s first run, coming around on a single by Lexi Riccardi (Jr., Redwood City, Calif., Biology). The advantage doubled in the third when Whitney Stone (Fr., Roseburg, Ore., Education) touched home plate.
The Racers (3-1) got one run back in the fourth and then tacked on four more in the fifth for a 5-2 advantage.
The navy and gold answered right back in the bottom of the fifth, though, courtesy of a run-scoring triple from Lexi Resa (So., Liberty, Mo., Biology). William Penn then knotted the contest at 5-5 in the sixth when Emily Brown (Sr., Waverly, Iowa, Biology) doubled in Reddy and Riccardi drove in Melina Fabian (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science) on a one-bagger.
Neither team scored in the seventh, forcing WPU to its second extra-inning game of 2019. This time, however, playing at a huge complex where keeping fields running on time was of the essence, the international tiebreaker rule was utilized. NWOH was unable to get its runner from second base home, but the Statesmen took advantage of a fielding mistakes–one of five on the day by the Racers–to win the game as Reddy scored for the third time in the contest.
The victors were outhit 10-9 with Reddy and Riccardi each going 2-for-4. Katie Springer (Jr., Riverside, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) permitted five runs (three earned) on 10 scattered hits over 6 2/3 innings. She had four strikeouts before handing the ball to Shelby Copley (Sr., Denver, Colo., Biology) who gained the victory with two strikeouts in 1 1/3 scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
The TIU contest was a dream matchup for the softball purist with the squads combining for just four hits (two each). The Statesmen had their best scoring chance in the fourth, but failed to bring anyone home.
Had the offense tallied even one run, it may have been enough for Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology), who was a dominant force inside the circle. The senior had the Trojans guessing all game, leaving them hitless through 6 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, Trinity International was able to take advantage of its lone chance, scoring on a walk-off single later in the bottom of the seventh.
Perry managed one strikeout against three walks in her outing. Riccardi and Jasmine Gonzalez (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Kinesiology) produced the lone WPU base knocks in the setback.
Next Up: William Penn travels to West Palm Beach, Fla. Monday to meet Rochester (Mich.) in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at noon (Central).
