Big Performances by Bedier, Stratton Lead WPU to Two Wins
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Lamoni—After a 10-game homestand, the Statesmen Baseball team was back on the road as they began a three-game set with Graceland.
William Penn (28-7, 13-3 Heart) took the first two games of the series with the Yellowjackets (6-23, 3-17 Heart) and have won eight of their its last nine ballgames.
WPU 13, GU 5
The Statesmen ace, Chase Stratton (Jr., Clearfield, Utah, Sports Management), toed the slab for his squad in game one. The junior lasted six innings, struck out 10 Yellowjacket hitters, allowed one earned run and grabbed his sixth win in his first campaign in the Navy and Gold. The 10 strikeouts mark the sixth time he’s reached double-digit K’s and now has 100 on the season.
It didn’t take long for WPU to get on the board. In the first frame, Tanner Bedier (Fr., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) led off with a double to deep right field and was brought around to score when the following hitter Blaze Speas (Sr., O’Fallon, Mo., Wellness and Recreation) singled through the hole between first and second base to put the visitors up 1-0.
It was the third inning though that the Statesmen really grabbed control. They hammered out eight runs in the inning, sending 12 hitters to the plate. Seth Reisbeck (Sr., Meridian, Id., History/Government) began the barrage with a RBI single that scored Bedier. After Nathan Ball (Sr., Moses Lake, Wash., Sociology) reached on an error, Dominic Bravo (Jr., Downey, Calif., Digital Communications), Boston Romero (Sr., Fairfield, Calif., Sociology), and Jimmy Blake (Sr., Seffner, Fla., Sports Management) all contributed RBI singles to increase the lead to 5-0. The big blow however, came from Bedier who launched a grand slam over the left-center field fence to move the lead to 9-0. For Bedier, it was his fourth home run of the season.
For good measure, William Penn added a pair of runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to secure the 13-5 victory.
Bedier finished 3-3 with a home run, five RBI’s, a walk, and three runs scored. Blake also collected a trio of hits, finishing 3-4 with a couple of runs scored. Speas and Reisbeck produced multi-hit outings as WPU outhit GU 15-5.
WPU 4, GU 0
Bedier got it done with the stick in game one and in game two did it from the mound. The Bondurant, Iowa native threw seven strong shutout innings for the navy and gold while striking out six GU hitters en route to his fourth win of the season. Trent Barnett (Sr., Eddyville, Iowa, Accounting) and Reisbeck each tossed a scoreless inning to help William Penn lock down its 27th win.
Once again, the Statesmen went on the attack early, getting on the board in the first inning. With runners on first and third, Ball popped a ball up on the infield and the Yellowjacket first basemen was unable to make the catch, allowing Nick Worcester (Sr., Bloomindale, Ill., Sports Management) to score. Worcester stole a base earlier in the inning.
It was a 1-0 game until the seventh frame when WPU plated three runs. Zach Edgar (Jr., Elgin, Ill., Business Management) led off the inning with a triple down the right field and scored on a ball put in play by Bedier. After back-to-back singles by Jarrett Hunt (Jr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communications) and Reisbeck, Ball singled down the left field line scoring hunt. Reisbeck came around to score later on in the inning on a batted ball by Bravo to push the advantage to 4-0.
Hunt, Reisbeck, and Ball all collected a pair of hits. Reisbeck reached base four times, adding a pair of walks.
With the wins, William Penn maintains its top spot in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and leads Clarke University by 2.5 games in the North Division.
Next Up: The Statesmen will conclude their three-game series with Graceland on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 pm.
