Statesmen Keep Season Alive with Play-In Win
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Des Moines–A three-run sixth frame gave the William Penn softball team the lead for good as it knocked off Graceland in the play-in round of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Monday.
WPU (24-31), which was the #5 seed out of the Heart’s North Division, defeated the Yellowjackets, North’s #4 seed, by a score of 6-3. The win advances the program to Cedar Rapids for the eight-team double-elimination bracket tournament.
The tournament will run from Wednesday through Saturday and play will be held at Busse Field at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.
The navy and gold will serve as the #8 seed and will open bracket play against #1 seed Baker on Wednesday at noon. William Penn was swept by the league’s regular season champion 8-0 (6 innings) and 4-1 (10 innings) in Oskaloosa on April 6.
Competing on the campus of Grand View University because Graceland’s field was unplayable, the Statesmen struck first on Monday as Lexi Riccardi (Jr., Redwood City, Calif., Biology) doubled home Emily Brown (Sr., Waverly, Iowa, Biology) and then scored herself on a single by Lexi Resa (So., Liberty, Mo., Biology).
GU (25-24), which wrapped up its campaign Monday, answered with all three of its runs in the bottom half.
WPU drew even in the third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kiya Harper (Jr., Decatur, Ill., Exercise Science). The victors, who held an 11-3 edge in base knocks, stranded runners in the fourth and fifth, but did not miss another opportunity in the sixth.
With two outs and a Resa in scoring position, Sonia Reddy (Jr., Tracy, Calif., Exercise Science) drove her in on a double. Harper then went to work, tacking on two insurance runs with a double that plated Reddy and Young.
Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology) entered in relief of starting hurler Katie Springer (Jr., Riverside, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) in the second frame and permitted a three-run home run to the first batter she met. The senior quickly settled in, though, and limited the Yellowjackets to just one run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings. She struck out seven and walked two in the victory.
Resa finished 3-for-4 at the dish, while Harper was 2-for-3 and Brown and Lindsay Lambert (Jr., Elk Grove, Calif., Elementary Education) each posted 2-for-4 outings. Six Statesmen produced at least one hit in the victory.
