Simmons Homers, but Statesmen Fall to Loser’s Bracket
William Penn University Athletics
Waterloo–Stan Simmons (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Physical Education) left the park for the second time this year, but his roundtripper was not enough to lift the William Penn baseball team into the championship bracket of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament Tuesday.
The top-seeded Statesmen (22-17) were upset by #6 seed Mount Mercy 13-6 and will now have to get the job done through the loser’s bracket. William Penn will start that work Wednesday against #5 Clarke in an elimination game beginning at noon.
The Mustangs (12-32-1) opened up the scoring with two runs in the top of the first, but the navy and gold answered with one in the bottom half. Kyle Mauricio (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn., Physical Education) reached on a double and scored two batters later on a single by Roy Perez (Jr., Avondale, Ariz., Physical Education).
Mount Mercy added one run each in the second and fourth to put William Penn in a 4-1 hole. It was a deficit that was erased in the fifth, however. Nathan Wood (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Business Management) led off with a single and Nick Kirby (Sr., Palmdale, Calif., Physical Education) joined him on the basepaths by reaching on a fielder’s choice. Austin Westercamp (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided) made it three-straight runners on the pads by getting to first on a bunt single.
Wood scored on a passed ball to make it 4-2, and then two batters later, Simmons provided the biggest hit of the game by clearing the left-center fence for a three-run homer. It is his second shot of 2013 and gave WPU a 5-4 advantage.
The lead was unfortunately extremely short-lived. The Mustangs responded with seven runs (only one earned) in the sixth, chasing starting pitcher Danny Erece (Sr., Chula Vista, Calif., Physical Education) out of the contest. Simmons singled home Westercamp in the seventh, but MMU was never really threatened in the final frames.
The Statesmen, who were outhit 12-10, were paced by Stan Simmons (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Physical Education) and his 2-for-5, four-RBI showing. Perez finished 2-for-3, while Kirby and Enrique Alvarado (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology) both reached base twice (one hit, one walk). Westercamp recorded a team-best two runs.
William Penn committed four errors as just six of Mount Mercy’s runs were earned. Erece struck out two in 5 2/3 innings, falling to 5-3 on the year. Brock Simon (Jr., Wauconda, Ill., Biology) was fairly effective in three relief innings, only permitting two runs (both earned).
