Harper Homers Twice as WPU Claims Pair of Mercy-Rule Victories
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Peru, Neb.–The Statesmen softball team had its way with Peru State Sunday as it swept a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.
William Penn (18-24, 9-13 Heart) won by scores of 10-2 and 11-2, both in five innings. The wins mark the first time since March 29, 2015 vs. Viterbo that the navy and gold have taken both games in a doubleheader via the mercy rule.
The offense, which nearly doubled up the Bobcats in hits at 16-9, scored its first three runs of the day in the top of the second frame. Savannah Fleming (Sr., Gooding, Idaho, Exercise Science) provided the big hit with a two-run single.
Peru State (6-29, 5-20 Heart) answered with a run in the bottom of the second, but the navy and gold got it right back in the third when Whitney Stone (Fr., Roseburg, Ore., Education) singled home Emily Brown (Sr., Waverly, Iowa, Biology).
Three additional runs were tallied in the fourth, headlined by a two-run home run off the bat of Kiya Harper (Jr., Decatur, Ill., Exercise Science).
The visitors then put the opener on ice with three more runs in the fifth, including RBI singles from Harper and Brown. Harper finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Stone was also 3-for-4.
Brown and Sonia Reddy (Jr., Tracy, Calif., Exercise Science), with two runs scored, each contributed two hits as well, while the trio of Fleming (two RBIs as well), Lindsay Lambert (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif., Elementary Education), and Jasmine Gonzalez (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Kinesiology) all touched home plate twice.
Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology) struck out three in a complete-game effort.
The nightcap was a replication of the first game as the navy and gold scored in all five innings, including three in the first, second, and third frames.
Harper started things off in the first with another two-run shot, her second of the day and second of the season. Lambert also drove an RBI double into the gap in the frame.
The Bobcats cut the margin down to one after one inning, but William Penn roared back with another three-spot (courtesy of two PSC errors) to start to pull away.
In lieu of a roundtripper, Harper brought in another score in the third when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. An additional three tallies were produced in the fourth, paced by a Lexi Resa (So., Liberty, Mo., Biology) run-scoring single.
Lambert then managed another RBI single in the fifth to cap the day’s scoring.
The victors held a 15-8 advantage in base knocks, led by Lambert going a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish. Harper, who ended up with four RBIs, and Brown, who scored three times, led a group of five other Statesmen with two hits each. Resa was one of those players and also scored twice in the triumph.
Katie Springer (Jr., Riverside, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) worked out of trouble to only permit two runs in four innings in the circle. Perry closed out the contest with two strikeouts in the fifth frame.
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Tuesday to host Clarke in a Heart doubleheader at 4 p.m.
