Gregory Throws Gem to Force Split with Benedictine
Oskaloosa—The Statesmen returned to the diamond Sunday to finish up their four-game home opening weekend with a doubleheader against Benedictine.
The Ravens ((15-11, 4-4 Heart) traveled to Oskaloosa, boasting one of the conference’s best power hitting lineups and they showcased it in game one, hitting four home runs en route to a 17-5 win. The Statesmen (13-9, 4-4 Heart) rebounded in game two on the back of a solid pitching effort, quieting the Benedictine bats with a 4-3 win to split the pair of games.
WPU 5, BC 17
Benedictine wasted little time getting on the board as they plated a pair in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the inning, WPU responded with three runs, capped off by a Jarrett Hunt (Sr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communication) RBI double, scoring Tanner Bedier (So., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management). The lead did not last long as the following half inning, BC scored five runs as they retook the lead, 7-3. WPU score two more on a pair of sacrifice flyouts courtesy of Adrian Garcia (Sr., Ontario, Calif., Mechanical Engineering) and Bedier. The five runs ended up being all they could muster in the game as Benedictine busted it open, scoring 17 runs.
Alex Fisher (Jr., Sydney, Aus., Biology) produced three hits in four trips to the plate while Bedier finished 2-3 with two RBIs in the loss. Hunt also logged a multi-hit effort finishing 2-3 with a walk and an RBI.
WPU 4, BC 3
Tyler Gregory (Jr., Peoria Heights, Ill., Exercise Science) had his best outing of the season as he toed the slab in game two. The junior tossed 6 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out eight to claim the victory.
William Penn got on the board first as Garcia came around to score on a two-out single by Jameson Hart (Jr., Sarnia, Ontario, Sports Management). Benedictine briefly took a lead in the third as they scored a pair before the Statesmen did the same in the bottom of the frame to gain a 3-2 advantage.
After giving up the pair of runs in the third, Gregory settled in, retiring the next nine Raven hitters.
WPU padded the lead, adding some insurance on a Carson Hauk (Fr., Lubbock, Texas, Business Management) sacrifice-fly. The run would end up being the difference as Benedictine threatened in the top of the 7th, plating one and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate before Bedier came in and out the fire with the lead intact to end the game.
Hart collected three hits in the win as well as two RBIs. Bedier was 1-3 with an RBI and Garcia concluded his solid weekend with a 1-2 effort, scoring twice.
Next Up: William Penn will travel to Tucson, Arizona for its spring break trip, taking on Dakota Wesleyan in doubleheader action on Tuesday.
