Statesmen Drop Knox, Fall in League to Grand View
William Penn Statesmen in action April 13th 2011
Galesburg, Ill./Oskaloosa–It was certainly a tale of two games for the William Penn baseball team as it defeated a non-league foe one day, but then came up short in Midwest Collegiate Conference action the next.
William Penn (19-18, 5-13 MCC) dropped Knox 9-0 Tuesday, but then lost to rival Grand View 8-1 Wednesday. Both games were nine-inning contests.
The Statesmen scored right out of the gate Tuesday and never looked back against the Prairie Fire (5-15). Cory Randall (Sr., What Cheer, Tri-County HS) put that initial run on the board in the first on a single by Jerry Hernandez (Sr., Moreno Valley, Calif., Chaffey CC).
Knox struggled mightily on defense (seven errors) and in no inning was that more evident than the fourth when the hosts committed three mistakes to help William Penn to another two runs to make it 3-0.
The four-run seventh was highlighted by a two-run triple by Evelio Ahumada (Jr., Hacienda Heights, Calif., Citrus CC), while Kyle Humphrey (Sr., Boise, Idaho, Skagit Valley CC) also had an RBI to plate Ahumada. Humphrey crossed home plate a bit later on a wild pitch.
Two more runs were tallied in the ninth for good measure. The Statesmen coveted a 9-2 advantage in hits and were led by Hernandez’s two base knocks. Ahumada finished with two RBIs and Randall rounded the pads twice.
Steve Enriquez (Jr., Castro Valley, Calif., Laney CC) ran his season record to 5-1 by striking out seven in a complete-game, two-hit victory.
William Penn served as the host on Wednesday, but like the Statesmen did to Knox the day before, the Vikings did not play nice guests 24 hours later.
The Statesmen did take the first lead in the third frame on a Hernandez single that brought home Randall. The remainder of the afternoon belonged to Grand View (18-14, 10-7 MCC), however, as it scored five times in the fourth, twice in the sixth, and once more in the seventh.
William Penn was outhit just 15-9 and had baserunners in seven different innings, but a total of eight players were stranded on base.
Randall and Hernandez were basically all of the team’s offense as both finished the day 3-for-4 at the dish.
Dennis Neal (Jr., San Leandro, Calif., Laney CC) was strong in the opening three innings, but the fourth unfortunately did not follow suit. He was replaced after that frame, allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits. The junior (1-2) struck out three and walked two.
Brad McGuire (So., Covina, Calif., Citrus CC) entered in relief and fared no better (3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 K).
Richard Romero (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., West Hills CC) was the lone silver lining on the staff, concluding the game with two shutout innings (2 H, 2K).
Next: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa this weekend to host Waldorf in MCC action. On Saturday, the teams meet for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., while Sunday’s single, nine-inning matchup starts at noon.
