Statesmen Out-Slugged by Peru State
William Penn University Athletics
Peru, Neb.–Jeysen Delgado (Jr., Harbor City, Calif., Kinesiology) had a memorable doubleheader Saturday, but unfortunately he and a strong offensive attack by the William Penn baseball team could not keep pace with Peru State as the Statesmen were swept in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
WPU (18-23, 7-17 Heart) lost by scores of 11-10 and 17-12.
The visitors rapped out 25 total hits, including four home runs, but simply did not score enough to get at least one much-needed victory as the season begins to wind down.
The Statesmen scored the day’s first run in the top of the first when Jared Goodman (Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif., Physical Education) singled in Delgado.
The Bobcats (24-12, 12-6 Heart) could not be slowed in the opener, scoring multiple runs in each of the first four innings.
Down 5-1 after two frames, William Penn went off for a huge eight-run third inning. Delgado got things going right away with a solo home run. Anthony Aguila (Jr., Highland, Calif., Kinesiology) then added a single that plated Goodman and Cory Russell (Sr., El Cajon, Calif., Education), while Aguila and Fabian Gutierrez (Jr., Selah, Wash., Communications) each touched home plate on a wild pitch.
Delgado capped the inning the same way he started it by launching a shot over the fence, this time scoring three runs on the hit. Delgado now has six roundtrippers this spring.
PSC kept rolling with two more in the bottom of the third and four in the fourth to take back the lead for good.
The navy and gold cut the host’s margin in half in the sixth as Delgado scored again, but could get no closer.
Delgado finished 3-for-3 with four RBIs and four runs scored. He also walked once and stole a base.
Russell and Aaron Petrash (Fr., North Miami, Fla., Digital Communication) both contributed two hits (Petrash also walked twice), while Goodman and Aguila drove in a pair of runs apiece. WPU was outhit 13-11.
The runs continued to pour in during the nightcap, although it took WPU until the later innings to post big scoring efforts, and by that point it was too late.
Goodman’s first-inning single brought around Delgado to make it 1-0. The hosts scored two straight before William Penn went on top for the last time with two runs in the third. Delgado jacked his third homer of the day and Goodman scored on a single by Dominik Sawyer (Sr., Chula Vista, Calif., Psychology and Human Services).
PSC answered with six runs in the bottom half and never trailed again. Three Statesmen runs were added to the tally in the fifth on a three-run bomb by Aguila. He now leads all WPU players with seven home runs.
The Bobcats put the second contest away, though, with nine runs in the fifth, but the visitors kept fighting until the end with six runs in the seventh. The frame was highlighted by a two-run one-bagger by Goodman.
Six different players had two hits in the setback, including Delgado, Goodman, Sawyer, Aguila, Petrash, and Colton Johnson (Sr., Westminster, Calif., Physical Education). Delgado scored three times, while Tyler Raskin (Sr., Vancouver, Wash., Business Management) did so twice. Goodman and Aguila finished with three RBIs each.
Michael Keegan, one of four hurlers to step onto the mound in the nightcap, was the lone pitcher to find success as he kept Peru State off the board in 1 2/3 innings (three strikeouts).
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Tuesday to host Avila in a Heart doubleheader at 1 p.m.
