Statesmen Drop Series Versus Central Methodist
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team hosted the Central Methodist Eagles on Monday to complete a four game set at Penn Field.
The Statesmen competed well, but dropped the final two games of the four game set against the #4 ranked Eagles by scores of 6-2 and 3-2. The losses move their overall record to 23-12, while their Heart of America Athletic Conference record drops to 12-8.
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The Statesmen offense took its first lead of the series early in the first game of Monday’s action. After Tanner Bedier (So., Bondurant, Iowa, Sports Management) singled up the middle and advanced on a wild pitch, Snaider Torrealba (Sr., Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Sports Management) hit an 11 hopper up the middle to drive Bedier home.
Teddy Natter (Jr., Reno, Nev., Sports Management) held the Eagles offense at bay, shutting them down through four innings to hold that one run lead. The score remained 1-0 until the fifth inning, when Central Methodist was able to break through. A couple errors aided the offensive attack for the Eagles, and by the time it was all said and done, the Eagles had emerged with a 4-1 lead. Only one of those runs was recorded as an earned run to Natter, but the damage had been done.
Central Methodist tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to extend their lead, and a late rally in the bottom of the seventh proved to be too little too late for the Statesmen as they eventually dropped the contest 6-2.
Natter took the loss in game three of the series, his first of the season, moving his record to 6-1. He allowed four runs (one earned) in his 4.1 innings of work, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out four. Stetson Denning (So., Queen Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) threw 1.2 innings in relief, allowing one earned run and whiffing three. Michael Carr (Jr., Trabuco Canyon, Calif., Sports Management) finished off the game, allowing one earned run in his lone inning.
The Statesmen recorded five hits as a team in the ballgame, with no member of the lineup posting a multi-hit performance. Bedier and Jarrett Hunt (Sr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communications) accounted for the two lone runs scored, with Torrealba tallying the only RBI.
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The two teams traded zeroes through the first two innings as Brian Thomas (Fr., Shingle Springs, Calif.) battled through some early jams, but the Eagles broke through for a run in the top of the third inning to capture the first lead of the ballgame.
The Statesmen bats weren’t done yet. Alex Fisher (Jr., Sydney, Australia, Biology) reached on a one-out single. With two down and Fisher standing on second, Soren Graversen (Jr., Calgary, Alberta, Human Services) cashed in with a huge hit, slicing a single into left-center field to drive in Fisher and tie the game at one. Graversen, who took second on a bobble by the left fielder, was not left on base for long, as Dillan Schrock (Fr., Shingle Springs, Calif.) rocketed a single up the middle to drive Graversen home and give the Statesmen a 2-1 lead and send the dugout into a frenzy.
Thomas recorded a quick two outs in the top of the fifth, but the second out came off a hard comebacker that hit him square in the arm. After a visit from the trainer, Thomas took the mound once again, but walked the next two batters he faced. A wild pitch during the next at bat moved both runners into scoring position, and a key two-out single gave Central Methodist the lead once again at 3-2. No more runs were to be found in the game as the Eagles closed out the game by that same score.
Thomas was credited with the loss to even up his record at 2-2. He worked 4.2 innings and allowed three earned runs on two hits and five walks, striking out six. Tyler Gregory (Jr., Peoria Heights, Ill., Exercise Science) finished the rest of the game, going a scoreless 2.1 innings and only allowing two walks.
The Statesmen posted seven hits as a team with Graversen recording the only multi-hit performance. Graversen and Schrock had the two big run scoring hits for William Penn in the game, with Graversen scoring one and Fisher scoring the other.
“It was unfortunately more of the same today in that our short game execution was not good,” said Head Coach Mike Laird. “Although we limited them to only two hits, we allowed a season-high seven walks. Not the outcomes we were expecting.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen will be back at home next weekend as they host the Mount Mercy Mustangs. First pitch for the April 17 doubleheader is scheduled for 1 PM.
