Bedier, Jean Homer in Opening Heart Series
Springfield, Mo.–Heart of America Athletic Conference play began for the William Penn baseball team with a four game series against the Evangel Valor. The Statesmen dropped the first three games of the series, but came out on top in game four.
WPU 3, EU 5
Tim Jean (So., Libertyville, Ill., Public Accounting) led off the first with a single, and two batters later, Jameson Hart (Sr., Sarnia, Ontario, Sports Management) drove him home to put WPU on the board first. The hosts answered right back, however, and tied the score in the home half of the first.
Evangel broke through again to take the lead in the third with a pair of runs, but this time, WPU was the one with an answer. Soren Graversen (Jr., Calgary, Alberta, Human Services) doubled to lead off the fourth, and was driven in by Alonzo Zuniga (Fr., Covina, Calif., Psychology and Sociology) two batters later. With two outs, Trevor Dooley (So., Prole, Iowa, Computer Science) tied the game with a single to score Carson Hauk (So., Plainview, Texas, Business Management).
Unfortunately, the navy and gold could not get any more runs home, and Evangel added one in the fourth and another in the sixth to earn a 5-3 victory. Despite posting 12 hits, WPU could not capitalize on all the traffic on the bases. Jean and Hart eached turned in three-hit performances, while Dooley and Graversen had two apiece.
Nick George (So., Sarnia, Ontario) tossed a complete game in the series opener, taking the loss after allowing five earned runs across six innings. He allowed seven hits and struck out three.
WPU 5, EU 10
The Statesmen began game two with a lead as well with two in the first, but Evangel came back with four more across the next few innings to take a 4-2 lead. The visitors pushed across another run in the fourth, but five in the home half effectively sealed the game as the Valor went on to win 10-5.
Brian Thomas (So., Shingle Springs, Calif.) took the loss in game two, working four innings and allowing nine earned runs, striking out six. Bret Whiffen (So., Green Bay, Wis., Exercise Science) threw the last two innings, allowing a single unearned run.
WPU 7, EU 8
EU jumped on starter Stetson Denning (Jr., Queens Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) for three runs in the first two innings, but the offense was held at bay to allow the offense to strike back. Tanner Bedier (Jr., Bondurant, Iowa, Industrial Technology) drove Jean in to cut into the lead, then the Statesmen erupted for four in the fifth. With the bases loaded, Alex Fisher (Sr., Sydney, Australia, Biology) came around to score on a ground out, then Jean got a hold of one and deposited it over the left field wall for three more.
Like they had all series, the Valor again had an answer, coming back with five runs in the bottom half of the fifth to take an 8-5 lead. Bedier hit a two-run blast to bring the score within one, but Evangel was able to close out the victory.
Denning took the loss, allowing eight runs (six earned) across five innings. Franklin Aparicio (Jr., Panama City, Panama) finished the game with a spotless sixth.
William Penn had nine hits in the game, as Jean Dooley, Bedier, and Fisher all had multi-hit efforts. Jean and Bedier each also had three RBI.
WPU 14, EU 5
Everything finally clicked for the Statesmen in game four as they finished with some momentum leaving the series. Hart drove in the opening run of the game in the first, and Graversen doubled in two more. It appeared to be more of the same trend, however, as the hosts came back with five unanswered to take the lead.
Hart came through in the fourth to knot the score again with a two run double. Then, back-to-back two-out RBI from Jean and Dooley gave William Penn the lead once again at 7-5. The Statesmen gave Evangel no chance to come back this time, as they dropped seven in the sixth, highlighted by a two-run single from Justin Martinez (So., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management) and a three-run blast by Bedier.
Bedier did a little of everything in the series finale, going 1-2 with the three-run homer, his second roundtripper of the day, and three walks at the plate while throwing three scoreless frames and earning the win on the mound. Jean was 4-5 with four runs scored from the leadoff spot, and Dooley drove in two runs with two hits.
Hart had a big game from the cleanup spot, driving in three runs with three hits and throwing a scoreless inning to finish the game. Hauk turned in a three-hit performance as well.
“Our pitching inconsistencies were exposed this weekend,” said Head Coach Mike Laird. “Some of our hitters did very well. Not exactly the showing we’d prepared for. Gotta get better next weekend.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen have their home opener coming up this weekend as they will host the Baker Wildcats for four games. First pitch on both Saturday and Sunday is scheduled for 1 PM.
