Statesmen Split Home-Opening Doubleheader
Oskaloosa–After a one day delay, the William Penn baseball team had their 2022 home opener against the Baker Wildcats. The Statesmen took game one 5-4, but dropped the second game on Sunday 9-6.
WPU 5, BU 4
Baker jumped on starter Nick George (So., Sarnia, Ontario) for a pair of runs in the first, but the offense was ready to respond in the bottom half of the inning. Trevor Dooley (So., Prole, Iowa, Computer Science) and Tanner Bedier (Jr., Bondurant, Iowa, Industrial Technology) had back-to-back one-out singles, then moved into scoring position after a passed ball. Jameson Hart (Sr., Sarnia, Ontario, Sports Management) delivered the big blow, tying the game with a two-run double. A couple batters later, Carson Hauk (So., Plainview, Texas, Business Management) cashed in Hart with two outs to give William Penn its first lead of the day.
George really settled down after the first inning, allowing only a handful of baserunners over the next few innings as he continued to make short order of the Baker lineup. He ran into some trouble in the fifth, but an unassisted double play by Tim Jean (So., Libertyville, Ill., Public Accounting) ended the inning and stranded a pair. In the ensuing innings, the Statesmen added two more runs to make the lead 5-2.
After escaping trouble in the fifth, George got into more trouble in the sixth. Stetson Denning (Jr., Queens Creek, Texas, Sports Management) was called upon to put out the fire, and although he got one out, he hit two batters in the process and quickly gave way to Bret Whiffen (So., Green Bay, Wis., Exercise Science) with the bases loaded and the tying run on third base. Whiffen induced a flyout to center to escape the jam with the lead, and finished the four-out save in the seventh.
The Statesmen had eight hits in the game, with Bedier turning in the lone multi-hit performance. George earned the win after throwing 5.1 innings of four-run ball. He allowed six hits and four walks while striking out two. Whiffen only allowed a single walk in his 1.1 innings to close down the save.
WPU 6, BU 9
The Wildcats once again opened with a pair of runs in the first, but the Statesmen were only able to respond with one this time on an RBI single from Alex Fisher (Jr., Sydney, Australia, Biology). The visitors added two more in the second, but those two were quickly nullified on back-to-back RBI doubles by Nathan Jessell (Fr., Napa, Calif.) and Alonzo Zuniga (Fr., Covina, Calif., Psychology and Sociology).
The score remained 4-3 until the fifth as Brian Thomas (So., Shingle Springs, Calif.) had settled in after the rocky start, but a two-out homerun in the fifth extended the lead to three. The Statesmen had a good opportunity to cut into the lead, but ran themselves out of the inning with a costly mistake on the bases.
In the sixth, three consecutive free passes loaded the bases for WPU and put the tying run on first. A run came across to score on a fielder’s choice, then Bedier stepped up to the plate. He blasted the 1-1 offering into center field as the ball rolled all the way to the wall for a game-tying two-run triple.
Unfortunately, the game did not remain tied for long as Baker struck for three in the top of the seventh, and the Statesmen did not have another comeback up their sleeve as the opening doubleheader resulted in a split.
Thomas received the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) across 6.1 innings. Bedier had a big game with three hits and two RBI, while Jean and Zuniga each had multi-hit efforts.
What’s Next: The Statesmen close out their opening home series tomorrow with another doubleheader against Baker. First pitch is scheduled for 1 PM.
