Statesmen Drop Opening Doubleheader Versus #4 Eagles
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen had a tall task ahead of them this weekend as the #4 ranked Central Methodist Eagles came into town to begin a four game set.
The Statesmen played extremely well against their first top five opponent of the year, but dropped both ends of the doubleheader by scores of 3-0 and 2-1. The losses drop William Penn’s record to 23-10 overall and moves their Heart of America Athletic Conference record to 12-6.
WPU 0 CMU 3
Starting pitcher Chase Stratton (Sr., Clearfield, Utah, Sports Management)had a big assignment on his ledger as he faced an Eagles lineup ranked sixth in the NAIA in batting average and 29th in runs scored per game. Two first inning hits got the Eagles on the board early, but Stratton used a pickoff to end the scoring there. The Statesmen bats remained scoreless, however, and Central Methodist was able to take advantage of two infield singles to scratch across another run.
Those two runs proved to be plenty for the Eagles pitching staff. Central Methodist added one final run in the fifth inning en route to a shutout of the Statesmen, taking game one by a final of 3-0.
Stratton was handed the loss in the contest, allowing three runs (two earned) while scattering nine hits and three walks. He struck out six in the complete game effort.
The navy and gold offense was stymied in the opening contest as the lineup was held to only three hits. Jaylan Jones (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Criminal Justice), Alex Fisher (Jr., Sydney, Australia, Biology), and Jameson Hart (Sr., Sarnia, Ontario, Sports Management) were responsible for all of the Statesmen hits in the contest, while four other Statesmen reached base via the walk.
WPU 1 CMU 2
In game two, it was now Jacob Wiechmann (Jr., Santa Cruz, Calif., Computer Science) who was tasked with trying to put the CMU offense at bay. The Eagles got rolling early with a leadoff single and a stolen base, but Wiechmann promptly struck out the next three batters he faced to neutralize the early threat.
After Adrian Garcia (Sr., Ontario, Calif., Mechanical Engineering) was dosed to the head to leadoff the game, Tanner Bedier (So., Bondurant, Iowa, Sports Management) ripped a single to put runners on first and second. A sacrifice bunt put runners in scoring position with only one out as the Statesmen threatened to take the early lead, but the Eagles wiggled out of the big time jam to keep William Penn off the board for the eighth consecutive inning.
The game remained scoreless until the top of the fourth inning. Facing a 3-1 count to the Eagles cleanup hitter, Wiechmann made his first mistake of the day, and the Central Methodist shortstop hit it over the right field fence to make it a 1-0 game. The next batter reached base as well, but two more strikeouts from Wiechmann helped avoid further damage and keep the game within striking distance.
The Statesmen were unable to take advantage of two Eagles errors in the bottom of the fourth inning as the game remained 1-0 until the sixth inning. Central Methodist loaded the bases with only one out in the top half of the frame, and Wiechmann tried to wiggle his way out of trouble. He induced soft contact in that situation, but unfortunately the middle infield had just moved back into double play depth and the soft ground ball was hit too weakly to complete the inning ending double play, and a second run came across to score.
Needing to chip into the two run lead, Jarrett Hunt (Sr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communications) kickstarted the offense with a double down the right field line. After a strikeout, Dominic Bravo (Sr., Downey, Calif., Digital Communications) laced a single into left field to drive in Hunt, finally putting the Statesmen on the board.
The momentum stopped there, however, as the seventh inning came and went without much action, with Central Methodist taking their second victory of the day by a score of 2-1.
Wiechmann was saddled with an unfortunate loss in the contest, as he pitched 6+ innings of lights out baseball. He allowed two earned runs on only four hits and three walks while striking out a season high eight batters. Stetson Denning (So., Queen Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) came on in relief of Wiechmann, allowing only an intentional walk in his scoreless inning of work.
After contributions from the bottom of the lineup in game one, it was the top of the lineup leading the offensive charge in game two. Garcia, Hunt, and Bravo each recorded one of the team’s five hits, while Bedier chipped in two. Hunt and Bedier each posted doubles down the right field line, with Bedier’s coming just a foot short of being a home run.
“We failed to get key hits with runners in scoring position and let too many lead off hitters reach base,” said Head Coach Mike Laird. “CMU is a top 5 team so we have to play better to knock them off. We have an opportunity to do just that tomorrow.”
What’s Next: Central Methodist will return to Penn Field tomorrow to finish off their four game set with the Statesmen. First pitch is scheduled for 1 PM.
