Statesmen Stomp Graceland in Twinbill Sweep
William Penn University Athletics
Lamoni–The William Penn baseball program got back on the victory trail Thursday by sweeping Graceland in non-conference action.
The Statesmen (13-5) won by scores of 14-0 and 4-2.
The visitors outhit the Yellowjackets (9-12) 15-4 in the opener and also took advantage of three GU errors. After being held down in the first frame, WPU went off for six runs in the second. William Vazquez (Fr., North Hollywood, Calif., General Accounting) produced the biggest hit of the inning with a two-run single.
William Penn kept rolling from there, adding two more in the third, four in the fourth, and two in the sixth. Vazquez finished 4-4 at the dish with two RBIs, while Stan Simmons (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Physical Education) and Kyle Mauricio (Sr., Ardene Hills, Minn., Physical Education) were both 3-for-4. Simmons drove in three runs and scored twice and Mauricio rounded the bases on three occasions.
Sho Serrano (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Physical Education) tallied three RBIs, while Enrique Alvarado (Sr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology) and Collin Schulz (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Undecided) each scored twice.
Kyle Maldonado (Jr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) matched the offensive success with a strong pitching performance. The junior (2-0) struck out six against three walks in six innings of two-hit ball. Juvenal Terrazas (Jr., Sylmar, Calif., Physical Education) closed out the win with one strikeout in the seventh inning.
Despite being outhit 9-7 in the second game, WPU finished off the sweep with timely hitting. It was the Serrano and Simmons Show early on with Serrano leading off the contest with a double and Simmons bringing him in two batters later on a triple. Simmons doubled the advantage in the first when he was plated on a single by Vazquez.
Serrano then opened the third with a walk and touched home plate on a Simmons’ single. Graceland cut the margin to one at 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, but the Statesmen recorded an insurance run in the seventh when pinchrunner Matt Emerson (Jr., Saugus, Calif., Business Management) tagged up and scored on a sacrifice flyout by Mauricio.
Serrano (two runs) and Simmons (two RBIs) both produced 2-for-3 outings. Kyle Kutzler (Fr., Kenosha, Wis., Industrial Technology) got back above .500 (2-1) by permitting only two runs (both earned) on six hits in 5 1/3 frames. The freshman struck out four with one walk.
Jacob Logan (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology) earned his first save of the year in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three and gave up three hits.
Next: William Penn hosts St. Ambrose in Oskaloosa next Tuesday in its Midwest Collegiate Conference-opening doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
