Statesmen Finish .500 in Southwest
William Penn University Athletics
Tucson, Ariz.–The William Penn baseball team experienced some very high highs, but also unfortunately fought through some lows during its spring break week in Arizona.
The Statesmen (6-10) started with losses in five of their first six games before rebounding to claim victories in their final four contests.
Sunday, March 4
Jamestown (N.D.) 8, William Penn 2
The navy and gold posted their only two runs in the third on back-to-back RBIs from Randall Packard (Sr., Forestville, Calif., Cal State-Monterey) and Brad Chin (Sr., San Rafael, Calif., San Rafael HS). Chin was 2-for-2, while Stanley Muller (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Cochise CC) also notched a pair of base knocks.
Danny Erece (Jr., Covina, Calif., Citrus CC) struck out five in taking the loss.
Jamestown (N.D.) 13, William Penn 3
It unfortunately did not get any better in the nightcap of the double dip as late-inning struggles (ten runs in the final two frames) sunk the Statesmen.
With the game already basically settled, William Penn put three across in the top of the seventh. Michael Crandell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Napa CC) brought in a run on a double, while Tony Mancuso (Sr., Covina, Calif., Citrus CC) singled in another.
Monday, March 5
William Penn 13, Southwest Minnesota State 6
The squad picked up its first win of the week against the Mustangs with 13 hits, including three by Evelio Ahumada (Sr., Hacienda Heights, Calif., Citrus CC). The foursome of Mancuso, Nathan Wood (Jr., Tucson, Ariz., Arizona Western CC), Jayme Mueller (Jr., Mundelein, Ill., College of Lake County CC), and Daniel Wehr (Sr., Sigourney, Sigourney HS) all managed two base knocks.
Wood scored four times, while Mueller touched home plate three times. A pair of RBIs were posted by Muller.
David Ness (Sr., Purceville, Va., Frederick CC) picked up the win, recording seven strikeouts in six frames.
Tuesday, March 6
St. John’s (Minn.) 7, William Penn 4
The offense struck with four runs in the second to give the Statesmen a 4-2 lead. Unfortunately, five unanswered runs put the Johnnies up for good.
Ahumada, Wood, and Mueller paced the plate presence with two hits each, while Devin Lange (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Paradise Valley CC) tallied five Ks in the setback.
Wednesday, March 7
Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) 16, William Penn 6 (8 innings)
Crandell was the offensive star in the run-rule game, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Nick Kirby (Jr., Palmdale, Calif., Antelope Valley CC) produced as well with a 2-for-4 outing.
Southwest Minnesota State 9, William Penn 4
A quick start (five runs in the first two innings) gave William Penn a 4-1 edge. It was negated, however, by SMSU scoring eight of its nine runs after the second frame.
Packard finished the matchup 3-for-5, while Kirby tacked on another two base knocks.
Jonathan Davis (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Southwestern CC) struck out a half dozen batters (one walk) in claiming the loss.
Friday, March 9
William Penn 5, Illinois Tech 0
William Penn got back on the winning trail behind a tremendous outing from Jorge Quezada (Jr., San Ysidro, Calif., Castle Park HS).
The junior threw his first career no-hitter, striking out seven and only allowing one batter to reach base (error in the fifth). The runner was removed in the next at-bat on a double play as Quezada faced the minimum of 21 batters.
It is the program’s first no-hitter since Joey Grant accomplished the feat on March 3, 2009 against Concordia (Mich.) (5 innings).
Offensively, Kirby contributed two hits and two runs, while Tony Alvarez (Jr., Spring Valley, Calif., Southwestern CC) added two hits as well. Packard brought in two runs with a seventh-inning double.
William Penn 29, Illinois Tech 5 (7 innings)
The Statesmen were just two shy of a school record for runs in a single game (31 in 1993) as they unloaded on Illinois Tech.
The game was highlighted by a 15-run fourth inning. Shockingly, almost all of the damage was done void of power hits (11 singles, 6 doubles, no triples or home runs) and also from help by the Hawk defense (six errors).
Ahumada guided the offense with three hits, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Packard, Mueller, Crandell, and Wood also finished with two hits. Packard had three RBIs, while Crandell, Wood, and Ness added two RBIs.
Mueller touched all the bags four times, while six of his teammates scored two times each.
Erece was the recipient of the offensive explosion, nabbing the victory with seven strikeouts.
Saturday, March 10
William Penn 19, Southern Vermont 5 (8 innings)
The plate dominance did not stop on Saturday with the team posting at least four runs in three separate innings to throttle Southern Vermont.
Six Statesmen tallied a hit, highlighted by a 3-for-5 day from Muller (3 R as well). Kirby, Ahumada, and Aaron Laird (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) had two hits apiece.
Laird scored three times in addition to three RBIs, while Kirby (2 RBI, 2 R), Packard (3 R), Tony Alvarez (3 R), Wood (2 R), and Garrett Ramsey (Sr., Eureka, Kan., Highland CC) (2 RBI) also had big days.
Ness won the game with six strikeouts.
William Penn 15, Illinois Tech 5 (7 innings)
The week ended with another great performance with the bats. Kirby’s 4-for-5, four-run showing was matched by Ahumada finishing 2-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs.
Wood established himself with a 3-for-5 day, while Packard netted two hits and two runs. Muller touched the final base on three occasions and Wehr did so twice.
Lange struck out five in the showdown.
Next: The Statesmen open Midwest Collegiate Conference play this weekend. On Saturday, the navy and gold face Waldorf in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The teams then meet up Sunday for a single nine-inning game at noon.
