Statesmen Struggle with Runners on Base in DH Split with Wildcats
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team finally came up with a timely hit late Sunday as it managed a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader split against Culver-Stockton.
WPU (16-17, 5-11 Heart) lost the first game 7-5 in nine innings, but took the second outing 3-1.
The opener was jam-packed with offense with the Wildcats owning a 15-13 edge in hits. Unfortunately, despite the large number of base knocks, the navy and gold were not as productive as they needed to be with runners on base, leaving 13 on the pads in the setback.
C-SC (17-17, 7-9 Heart) tallied two runs in the top of the first, but William Penn cut the margin to one in the bottom half as Jared Goodman (Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif., Physical Education) singled home Julian Villegas (Jr., Wilmington, Calif., Sociology).
The hosts fell behind 3-1 before scoring once in the third and twice more in the fourth. Villegas’ single plated pinchrunner Rudy Saenz (Fr., El Paso, Texas, Exercise Science) and then Jeysen Delgado (Jr., Harbor City, Calif., Kinesiology) tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Aguila (Jr., Highland, Calif., Kinesiology).
The back-and-forth matchup featured yet another lead change in the fifth as Culver-Stockton added two to its total. WPU was not done, though, knotting the game at 5-5 in the sixth on a single by Fabian Gutierrez (Jr., Selah, Wash., Communications) that brought Delgado around.
The Statesmen had a chance to walk it off in the eighth, but could not bring in a runner in scoring position. The Wildcats unfortunately were successful in posting a pair of runs in the ninth. Though it was able to get the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, William Penn failed to complete the comeback as no one touched home.
Gutierrez topped the home team with a 4-for-5 performance, while Goodman and Villegas both contributed a pair of hits. Delgado came all the way around on two occasions.
Austin Neff (Jr., Hanna City, Ill., Psychology), who struck out three Wildcats, scattered several hits but limited the damage over a six-inning start. Frankie Nunez (Sr., Lemon Grove, Calif., Sociology) had a sold showing in three innings of relief, but permitted two unearned runs in the loss; he posted one strikeout.
WPU was definitely the better squad in the nightcap, but almost suffered the same fate as in the first game by leaving 12 runners on base.
Colton Johnson (Sr., Westminster, Calif., Physical Education) gave the Statesmen the early lead by clearing the left-field fence with a solo home run in the second. The roundtripper is his second of 2017.
Brian Harrity (So., Castle Rock, Colo., Software Engineering) kept Culver-Stockton scoreless through the first five innings, finally permitting the tying run in the top of the sixth. C-SC’s momentum did not last long, though, as Goodman helped the hosts leave on a positive note with a sixth-inning, bases-loaded single that knocked in Saenz and Delgado.
William Penn was able to overcome its poor performances with runners on base, having left the bases packed in the first, second, and fifth frames.
The victors, who owned an 8-3 mark in hits, were guided by two hits each from Delgado and Villegas.
Harrity was outstanding as he went the entire way; the sophomore struck out four batters against two walks. He put the Wildcats down in order three times.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Lamoni next Saturday and Sunday to face Graceland in a four-game Heart series. Both doubleheaders will start at 1 p.m.
