Lady Statesmen Enter MCC Final Four as #4 Seed

William Penn Women's Athletics

Oskaloosa–With one goal already accomplished, one more star can be plucked from the sky this weekend as the William Penn softball team plays in the Midwest Collegiate Conference Final Four Tournament this weekend.

The Lady Statesmen (35-16), winners of the MCC regular season title, are joined by Grand View (22-26), Iowa Wesleyan (15-33), and Clarke (17-24) for the right to represent the league as its automatic qualifier to the NAIA Softball National Championships that will be contested from May 19-25 in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The double-elimination tournament will be played in Des Moines on the campus of Drake University.

William Penn did not win last weekend’s pod, but due to its top overall seed, it still advanced to the Final Four. The squad is the #4 seed and will open against #1 seed Grand View Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The other first-round game will pit #2 seed Iowa Wesleyan vs. #3 seed Clarke at 9:30 a.m. Iowa Wesleyan, originally the #7 seed, pulled the upsets at the Waldorf pod, while Clarke, the #9 seed, was the underdog winner at William Penn’s pod.

Iowa Wesleyan’s graduation ceremony on Saturday puts a wrench in the tournament plans. Games three and four will be dependent on the Tigers’ position after the opening contests, so those times have not been announced.

William Penn has plenty of experience against all three teams this spring.

The Lady Statesmen are 0-2 against Grand View this year, falling 6-1 and 12-4 (6 innings) on April 5. The team is 2-0 against Iowa Wesleyan, winning 12-1 (5 innings) on April 3 and 10-0 (5 innings) on April 21.

William Penn has met Clarke the most, however, owning a 3-2 record against the Crusaders. The Lady Statesmen won 10-0 (5 innings) on April 3 and 1-0 and 2-1 on April 20, before falling 4-3 on April 30 and 3-2 on May 1.

The Lady Statesmen will be seeking their third MCC Tournament crown (2003, 2007) and their third trip to the NAIA National Tournament (2005, 2007).