Statesmen End Florida Trip with Pair of Losses to Keiser
by Wade Steinlage
West Palm Beach, Fla.–The William Penn softball will look to get back on track when it returns to the Midwest after ending its Florida trip by being swept by non-conference foe Keiser Thursday.
WPU (7-9) lost by scores of 4-2 and 4-1.
The navy and gold scored first as Hayley Freestone (Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) and Whitney Stone (Fr., Roseburg, Ore., Education) each touched home plate in the second inning.
The Statesmen continued to stay on top after four frames, but unfortunately the Seahawks, who held a 9-3 edge in hits, broke through in a big way with four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the opener.
Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology) tallied three strikeouts against two walks in a complete-game effort.
KU (10-8) had the early advantage in the nightcap with two runs in the first and one more in the second. Stone pulled William Penn to within two runs in the fourth on a double that plated Lindsay Lambert (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif., Elementary Education).
Despite producing eight hits (11 for Keiser), the Statesmen failed to bring anyone else around, while the Seahawks tacked on one more run in the sixth.
Jasmine Gonzalez (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Kinesiology) topped WPU with a 3-for-4 performance, including a double.
Katie Springer (Jr., Riverside, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) was saddled with the loss, striking out five and walking a pair in six innings of work.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Kansas City, Mo. Sunday to face Avila in non-conference action at 1 p.m.