Statesmen Get Two Wins Over Clarke, Coach Laird Collects 1,000th
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Peosta–William Penn Baseball was playing for more than just a pair of Heart of America Athletic Conference wins on Saturday as they entered a doubleheader with Clarke. Its skipper, Head Coach Mike Laird, came into the contests just two wins shy of 1,000 in his coaching career, which would make him just the seventh head coach to reach the mark in NAIA history.
The Statesmen (19-4, 5-1 Heart) didn’t let their coach wait very long as they picked up both wins over Clarke (11-13, 8-5 Heart) by the scores of 4-3 and 9-2.
WPU 4, CU 3
The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader was a pitcher’s duel until the late innings. Tanner Bedier (Fr., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) got the start was rock solid, cruising through 6.1 innings while allowing no runs on only four hits and striking out four. The freshman exited the game in the top of the seventh with the tying run on second base but Trent Barnett (Sr., Eddyville, Iowa, Accounting) got him off the hook with a pair of strikeouts to end the frame.
William Penn’s offense was held in check through six innings but broke through in the eighth. Dominic Bravo (Jr., Downey, Calif., Digital Communication) led off the inning with an opposite field double, Cassian Castillo (Jr., San Leandro, Calif., Business Management) proceeded to pinch run for Bravo. After a Jaylan Jones (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Sociology) single to put runners at the corners, Adrian Garcia (Jr., Ontario, Calif., Mechanical Engineering) laid down a perfectly executed squeeze bunt and was safe at first, scoring Jones.
Unfortunately, WPU was unable to close the door in the bottom of the eighth as Clarke tied the game at 1-1.
In the ninth, the Navy and Gold came through in the clutch once again. This time plating a pair of runs on a Jones two-RBI single, scoring Seth Reisbeck (Sr., Meridian, Id., History) and Blaze Speas (Sr., O’Fallon, Mo., Wellness and Recreation).
The 3-1 Statesmen lead didn’t last long however, as the Pride refused to go down quietly and scored the tying runs in the bottom of the inning, extending the game to a 10th inning.
Chase Stratton (Jr., Clearfield, Utah, Sports Management) came into the game in a relief role for the first time this season and closed the door on the Statesmen’s 18th victory.
Some two-out magic propelled William Penn in the 10th. After a pair of strikeouts, Jarrett Hunt (Jr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communication) singled to left field and was followed by a Speas infield single to put runners at first and second base. Reisbeck then doubled over the Clarke left fielders head to score Hunt. Speas was thrown out at the plate on the play to end the inning.
Four WPU hitters had multi-hit performances. Speas finished 2-5, Reisbeck went 2-4 (2B, RBI, BB), Bravo went 2-3 (2B, BB) and Jones finished 2-4 (2 RBI).
WPU 9, CU 2
Alec Myers (Jr., Casper, Wyo., Biology) took the mound for his first start since he made history by throwing a perfect game, becoming the only pitcher for William Penn (since joining the NAIA) to do so. Myers turned in another excellent performance, albeit not perfect, going the distance while allowing only two earned runs on five hits to pick up his second win of the campaign.
WPU got on the board in the third with two runs, highlighted by a Bravo RBI single that scored Nick Worcester (Jr., Bloomingdale, Ill., Physical Education).
The Statesmen hitters really did their damage in the fifth inning when seven runs came across to score. They managed to hit around in the inning and collected five hits, capped off by a Hunt double that scored Garcia and Castillo.
The nine runs proved to be enough as William Penn improved to 19-4 overall and 5-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The win also corralled the 1,000th win for Coach Laird as he became only the seventh Head Coach in the NAIA to do so.
Nathan Ball (Sr., Moses Lake, Wash., Psychology) led the charge offensively collecting three hits with a double and a RBI while Bravo and Hunt each had a pair of knocks in the win.
“Biggest wins of the season so far. The guys never die. Even though we are banged up, the guys all play very hard.” Head Coach Mike Laird said, “I have been extremely fortunate all these years to have had tremendous support from family and the WPU administration as well as the hundreds of great players and assistant coaches.”
Next Up: The Statesmen return to action on Sunday to conclude their series with Clarke in Peosta with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
