Statesmen Lose Opener in Extras, Swept by CMU
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team was on the doorsteps of again netting at least a split against its ranked opponent, but instead came up short in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader with #22 Central Methodist Sunday.
WPU (9-10, 1-3 Heart), which took one of two games from CMU on Saturday, fell by scores of 5-4 (8 innings) and 17-3.
After three scoreless innings in the first bout, the Eagles (18-4, 7-1 Heart) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
The navy and gold, who tallied just two hits through the first five frames, continued to trail by one run entering the bottom half of the sixth. Zach Otten (Jr., Mapleton, Ill.) got things going in an unconventional manner as he followed a leadoff strikeout by being hit by a pitch. The junior then moved to second on a single by Nick George (Sr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology).
Otten finally came home on a single off the bat of Hector Dominguez (So., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) to tie the game.
Justin Martinez (Sr., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management) then strolled to the plate in the next at-bat and provided the biggest base knock of the opener as he cleared the fence for a three-run home run, lifting the hosts to a 4-1 advantage.
Unfortunately, the Eagles answered right back in the top of the seventh by putting two on base and clearing the pads with a three-run roundtripper of their own to force extra innings.
CMU rode its momentum into the eighth and scored the go-ahead run in the top half, while the Statesmen went down in order on the bottom side to take the loss.
William Penn nearly overcame being outhit 8-6. Dominguez guided WPU with a 2-for-4 showing.
Joel Holguin (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif., Sociology) pitched well through the first six innings, giving up just one run (earned) on five hits, but could not get through the seventh frame. He struck out two and walked two in the opener.
Bret Whiffen (Sr., Green Bay, Wis., Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) tallied two strikeouts in two relief innings.
The second outing was controlled by Central Methodist from the start as WPU lost the hits battle 24-10. CMU scored multiple runs in six different innings, while the Statesmen managed one run in the second and two in the sixth.
Otten, who finished 3-for-4, singled home Froymer Ortega (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla., Wellness and Recreation) for his team’s first tally.
Nathan Jessell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Sociology) and Christian Soria (Sr., Ogden, Utah, Exercise Science) both also touched home plate in the sixth inning. Jessell ended up with one hit and one base on balls.
“Not being able to hold onto the lead in the opener was an awful way to lose,” Head Coach Mike Laird said. “We were unfortunately never in the second game as their hitters dominated out pitching. Our outfield play continues to be something we need to work on. We will now get ready for a good Baker team next weekend.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Baldwin City, Kan. next Saturday to face Baker in a Heart doubleheader at 1 and 3:30 p.m.
