Statesmen Conclude Graceland Weekend with Pair of Setbacks
William Penn University Athletics
Lamoni–The William Penn baseball team came up just one out shy of obtaining a split Sunday as it was swept by Graceland in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.
WPU (17-20, 6-14 Heart) fell by scores of 11-0 and 4-3.
The visitors were outhit 13-4 in the opener and suffered through three big innings by GU. The Yellowjackets (11-23, 5-11 Heart) opened the day’s scoring with five runs in the third and then added three runs in both the fourth and fifth frames.
The nightcap was a back-and-forth battle, beginning with GU going up 1-0 in the bottom of the third. The Statesmen answered with one of their own runs in the next half inning as Aaron Petrash (Fr., North Miami, Fla., Digital Communication) scored on a wild pitch.
The home team recaptured the advantage with a tally in the bottom of the fourth, but William Penn tied the game once again at 2-2 as Anthony Aguila (Jr., Highland, Calif., Kinesiology) cleared the fence with a solo home run. Aguila now has six roundtrippers this spring, including three over the weekend.
The navy and gold finally claimed their first lead of the afternoon in the seventh inning. The Statesmen loaded the bases with just one out and Fabian Gutierrez (Jr., Selah, Wash., Communications) put WPU on top 3-2 as his sacrifice flyout brought in pinchrunner Daniel Vela (Fr., Chicago Heights, Ill., Biology).
Austin Neff (Jr., Hanna City, Ill., Psychology) was strong in six innings as the starter, permitting just two runs on eight hits. The junior struck out five batters and walked three, but did not figure into the decision as the Statesmen went to the bullpen to finish the victory.
Unfortunately, William Penn ran into trouble right away in the seventh. Despite allowing the Yellowjackets to pack the pads, the visitors were still only one out away from snatching a split for the second-straight day. WPU failed to close it out, though, as Graceland scored the tying and game-winning runs on an error, the only one committed in the game.
Dominik Sawyer (Sr., Chula Vista, Calif., Psychology and Human Services) headlined William Penn’s offense with a 3-for-4 showing, while Aguila and Jared Goodman (Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif., Physical Education) both recorded two base knocks. The Statesmen outhit GU 9-8.
