Statesmen Sweep Rochester, Fall Twice to St. Thomas
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinalge
West Palm Beach, Fla. / Miami Gardens, Fla.–The William Penn softball team continued its spring break trip with mixed results Monday and Tuesday.
WPU (7-5) defeated Rochester (Mich.) 5-1 and 5-1 Monday, but then lost 7-4 and 6-1 to St. Thomas Tuesday.
WPU 5, Rochester 1
The navy and gold went up 1-0 in the second inning against the Warriors (0-4) on a single by Lexi Resa (So., Liberty, Mo., Biology) that plated Lindsay Lambert (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif., Elementary Education).
WPU then tacked on four more runs in the fifth, headlined by RBI singles from Lexi Riccardi (Jr., Redwood City, Calif., Biology) and Abby Young (Jr., Dunlap, Ill., Exercise Science).
The Statesmen, who outhit RC 8-2, overcame three errors in the field as Katie Springer (Jr., Riverside, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) was lights out. The senior struck out three without a walk in a complete game. The lone run she allowed was unearned.
Resa and Hayley Freestone (Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) were each 2-for-3 to pace William Penn.
WPU 5, Rochester 1
The Warriors claimed the early advantage with a run in the first frame, but the Statesmen answered with a big crooked number of five runs in the second. WPU rapped out three hits and took advantage of two Rochester errors.
That was more than enough offense for Shelby Copley (Sr., Denver, Colo., Biology), who worked five no-hit innings for the win. The senior tallied four strikeouts against four walks and permitted just one run.
Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology) entered in relief and finished off the no-hitter by striking out one (one walk) in two innings of action.
WPU ended up with five base knocks, including two by Emily Brown (Sr., Waverly, Iowa, Biology). Riccardi drove in a pair of runs as well.
St. Thomas 7, WPU 4
Defensive miscues set the Statesmen back in the opener against the Bobcats. After going up 1-0 in the top of the second, STU (12-4) scored all seven of its runs in the bottom half. None of the runs were earned, however, as WPU committed three of its four errors in the inning.
WPU, which was actually even with the Bobcats in hits (7-7), attempted to scratch back into the matchup, putting one across in the third and two more in the fifth. Unfortunately, the deficit was too large to overcome.
Lambert and Savannah Fleming (Sr., Gooding, Idaho, Exercise Science) each finished 2-for-3, while Riccardi crossed home plate twice. In the circle, Springer managed one strikeout against two walks in the complete-game setback.
St. Thomas 6, WPU 1
Its fielding unfortunately did not improve in the nightcap as William Penn committed six more mistakes.
The navy and gold fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the second, but answered right back with its lone run in the top of the third. The Bobcats had a response to the response, however, with four tallies in the bottom of the third and finished off the sweep.
Perry put in 2 2/3 innings of work as the starter, while Copley entered in the third and completed 3 1/3 frames with one strikeout. WPU was outhit 6-3.
“We continue to beat ourselves,” Head Coach Mike Christner said. “We have committed too many unforced errors. Our pitchers are throwing well; we just need to clean up our defense.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Babson Park, Fla. to face Webber International in a non-conference doubleheader at noon.
