Statesmen Split High-Scoring Twinbill with Briar Cliff
William Penn University Athletics
Sioux City–The William Penn baseball team struck late in the opener, but a rally by the home team forced the Statesmen to settle for a doubleheader split against Briar Cliff Friday.
William Penn (9-9) won the opener 9-8, but then fell in the nightcap 11-8.
The visitors opened the day’s scoring when Patrick Roxbury (Sr., Canyon, Calif., Sociology) scored in the top of the first. The Chargers (9-9-1) answered back and with emphasis, tallying five in the bottom half. Both sides had one tally in the second to make it 6-2 BCU after two frames.
Five unanswered (two in the fourth, three in the fifth) gave the navy and gold the lead, but it was short-lived as the home team picked up two in the bottom of the fifth to once again lead 8-7.
WPU tied the matchup in the sixth and Cory DeRush (Sr., Grand Junction, Colo., Business Management) put the program ahead for good with his fourth RBI in the seventh. DeRush was 2-for-4, while William Vazquez (So., North Hollywood, Calif., General Accounting) was 3-for-4 (2 RBIs, 2 R) and Ryan Marshall (Sr., Quartz Hill, Calif., Sociology) was 3-for-5 (2 R). Roxbury also rounded the bases on two occasions as he recorded two hits and two walks.
Matt Emerson (Sr., Saugus, Calif., Business Management) matched Vazquez with a pair of RBIs and Sho Serrano (Sr., Lancaster, Calif., Physical Education) and Robert Phiakeo (Jr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management) (2 R) both had two base knocks. The dual featured 31 hits (16-15 BCU).
Jacob Logan (Sr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology) struggled in the starting role, but Logan Overly (Jr., Oakley, Calif., Secondary Education) saved the day with two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. The junior (1-1) only permitted one hit coming out of the bullpen.
The offenses were slowed at the beginning of the nightcap with the Chargers holding tightly to a 2-1 advantage after four innings of action. The competitors quickly caught fire in the fifth, however, beginning with a seven-run effort by William Penn.
The frame included seven hits, but none bigger than the two-run RBIs from Phiakeo and J.P. Rios (Jr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management). Unfortunately, Briar Cliff did not flinch, responding with two in the bottom of the fifth and a seven spot of its own in the sixth to take the edge back for good.
The visitors were in the game despite being outhit 16-9. Roxbury was 3-for-4 (2 R), while Serrano was 2-for-4. Phiakeo had three RBIs and Rios produced two as well.
Starting pitcher Tyler Martinez (Jr., San Diego, Calif., Sociology) allowed four runs on nine scattered hits in four innings, but was still set to claim the win as the Statesmen bullpen took over in the fifth. Cole Williams (Sr., Napa, Calif., Physical Education) tried to keep WPU in front, but unfortunately had little success in the endeavor (seven runs in 1 1/3 innings), while Kyle Maldonado (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) stopped the bleeding with two strikeouts in 2/3 of an inning.
Next Up: William Penn stays in Sioux City Saturday to face Morningside in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
