Lady Statesmen Sweep Iowa Wesleyan for Outright Crown
William Penn Lady Statesmen took on Iowa Wesleyan Monday night
Oskaloosa–The William Penn softball team only needed one win Monday night to claim the Midwest Collegiate Conference title outright, but picked up the second for good measure as it begins to prepare for postseason play.
The Lady Statesmen (35-12, 18-2 MCC) dropped Iowa Wesleyan by scores of 3-0 and 8-1. The opening-game win gave the program the outright league crown, once again its sixth since joining the league in 2002.
Tiger hurler Sierrah Garcia had the home team guessing for much of the first contest, permitting just one hit through four innings. William Penn finally broke through in the fifth, though, beginning with Christine Gamble (Sr., Pahrump, Nev., Pahrump Valley HS) drawing a one-out walk.
Brailey Freed (Jr., Loveland, Colo., Otero CC) then pinch-ran for her and was sacrificed to second by Ashley Kingery (Jr., Knoxville, Knoxville HS). With two outs recorded, Brittni Reyes (Sr., Vacaville, Calif., Solano CC) gave her squad the lead with a single into left center to score Freed.
Two insurance runs were tallied in the sixth as well with Brianne Rowley (Sr., Hood River, Ore., Blue Mountain CC) doubling in Molly Miller (Jr., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS) and Khyia Lewis (Sr., Ottumwa, Ottumwa HS) also pounding a two-bagger to plate Rowley.
Lewis finished with a game-best two hits as William Penn produced four in the opener.
Jennifer Whitehead (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) was about as dominant as she has ever been in winning her 16th game. The sophomore (16-7) gave up just one hit (in the seventh inning) and struck out a career-high 12 batters (three walks) in the victory.
With the pressure of winning the league title off their shoulders, the Lady Statesmen were relaxed for the nightcap and it showed as they scored early and often against Iowa Wesleyan (20-25, 8-10 MCC).
Four runs were put on the board in the first, highlighted by a two-run shot by Lewis, her 12th home run of the year. Rikki Picariello (Sr., Port Coquitlam, B.C., Olympic CC) also tallied an RBI single.
Another run came across in the third when Ashley Stream (Sr., Chariton, Chariton HS) tagged up and scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Athena Rosario (Sr., Bremerton, Wash., Olympic CC).
Picariello and Mikayla Djordjevic (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., NW Career and Tech Academy) added RBI singles in the fifth as did Stream in the sixth. William Penn outhit its foe 11-5, including two base knocks by Lewis, Stream, Djordjevic, and Picariello. Stream scored on three occasions, while Lewis made it around twice.
Amber Daly (Sr., Napa, Calif., Solano CC) improved to 8-2 in the complete game. She had two strikeouts against one walk.
Next: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Tuesday to host St. Ambrose in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
