Balanced Attack Lifts Statesmen to MCC-Opening Sweep
William Penn Softball claimed two victories Wednesday night.
Oskaloosa–The William Penn softball team began Midwest Collegiate Conference play Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep over Clarke.
The Statesmen (18-8, 2-0 MCC) won 4-3 and 8-0 (5 innings). The shutout is the fifth of the season for William Penn.
The hosts outhit the Crusaders 9-3 in game one, but had just one hit through the first three frames. Clarke (4-8, 0-2 MCC), on the other hand, paired two singles and two walks in the third to take a 2-0 advantage.
Still down 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth, the Statesmen finally got going with Molly Miller (Sr., Kalona, Iowa, Business Management) and Callie Henry (Sr., Earlham, Iowa, Elementary Education) leading off with back-to-back singles. Both scored later in the inning on a two-out single by Sonia Ray (Jr., San Diego, Calif., Physical Education).
William Penn took the lead for good two batters down the road when Sydney Edwards (So., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology & Biology) brought in Ray on another single. Edwards paced the offense with a 2-for-3 showing. Eight different players posted at least one base knock.
Bri Zerley (So., Monroe, Iowa, Biology) then led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple, a shot that narrowly skimmed over the right fielder’s glove. She scored on a single in the next at-bat by Cassie Lohman (Sr., Burbank, Calif., Sociology). The run put WPU ahead 4-2, but was much more than an insurance run. It actually ended up serving as the difference maker as Clarke’s Betsy Nauman began the seventh with a home run to pull the visitors to within one at 4-3.
Fortunately, Jennifer Whitehead (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) shut down the Crusaders from there. The junior, who is now 8-4, struck out seven and walked two.
Ray opened the scoring in the nightcap by slamming a lead-off solo home run that cleared the left field fence in the third inning. It was her first homer in the navy and gold.
Lohman then played a part in both of the team’s fourth-inning runs. She first doubled home Zerley and then later scored herself on a Clarke error.
All of that just primed the proverbial pump for the Statesmen as they exploded for five runs in the fifth. Ashlee Dennis (So., Loveland, Colo., Biology) led off with a single, while Jessica Christensen (Fr., Marysville, Wash., Sociology) singled her in three batters later. Zerley brought in two more on another one-bagger, while the game concluded when pitcher Carly Land (Sr., Mission Viejo, Calif., Education) helped her own cause with a two-run single.
Eight different players again had one hit in the second game as William Penn outhit the Crusaders 9-2. Land led the charge by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Zerley managed two RBIs as well and also scored twice.
The junior (10-4) recorded her second shutout of the year as she tallied five strikeouts without a walk.
Next: William Penn remains at home Thursday to host Mount Mercy in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
