Statesmen Sweep Trojans in Missouri
Hannibal, Mo. – Highlighted by a shutout, the Statesmen baseball team swept Hannibal-LaGrange in a non-conference doubleheader Friday.
WPU (5-1) won the opener 9-4 before capping the day with a 10-0 triumph.
The Statesmen and Trojans were scheduled to also play Saturday, but due to inclement weather the contest has been rescheduled to February 24 in Oskaloosa.
WPU 9, Hannibal-LaGrange 4
WPU started out hot when Abraham Arroyo (Grad., Camuy, P.R., Master’s of Sports Management) hit a two-run homer to go up 2-0 in the top of the first.
The Statesmen extended their advantage in the third when Ened Perez (Jr., Orocovis, P.R., Kinesiology) scored on a batted ball by Jagger Mitchell (Sr., Rock Springs, Wyo., Business Management). Andres Pineda (Sr., Cartagena, Colombia, Business Management) followed with a two-RBI double before McGwire Jephson (Jr., Rigby, Idaho, Business Management) hit a two-run home run to make it 7-0.
Jephson added his second roundtripper in the top of the sixth to score the final Statesmen run.
Hannibal-LaGrange, which actually outhit the navy and gold 9-8, attempted to rally in the latter frames with a trio of runs, but never truly threatened WPU.
Jephson and Albert Jaquez (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Kinesiology) each had two hits, while Jephson had a team-high three RBIs in addition to two runs. Arroyo and Pineda both drove in two runs, and Perez touched home plate twice.
Andrei Gordeev (Sr., Balashikha, Russia, Business Management) earned the win, permitting just one run on seven scattered hits in 5 1/3 innings. The senior struck out four without a walk.
Garrett Neiman (Jr., Arvada, Colo., Sports Management) also pitched well, allowing only one run on one hit in two frames. He tallied two strikeouts.
WPU 10, Hannibal-LaGrange 0
William Penn sustained its momentum in the nightcap, outhitting H-LG 11-4.
The Statesmen scored four first-inning runs, beginning with Jephson coming around on a wild pitch. Perez then delivered a three-run home run to left field to give William Penn a 4-0 lead.
Neither team scored again until the fourth, when Arroyo hit a sacrifice fly to score Pineda.
Keoni Young (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science) then matched Perez with a three-run homer to extend the lead to 8-0.
William Penn scored again in the sixth inning when Sawyer Hardman (Jr., American Fork, Utah, Kinesiology) hit an RBI single that brought in Jephson before closing the scoring in the seventh on an RBI single by Shane Mailloux (So., Santee, Calif., Business Management) that allowed Aiden North (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) to make his way home.
The trio of Pineda, Perez and Young each had two hits, while Perez and Young led the team with three RBIs apiece.
Jephson drew three walks, and Hardman was walked twice.
Erik Mejia Jr. (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science) collected the pitching victory by going five shutout innings, allowing just four hits with five strikeouts (two walks). Ethan Peters (Jr., Hortonville, Wis., Sports Management) then entered out of the bullpen, striking out two batters in a pair of perfect frames.
“Defensively we played very well in both games today” Head Coach Mike Laird said. “Offensively we hit some long balls today, Jephson really came alive, and Pineda continues to be a big threat at the plate. Gordeev pitched well in overcoming some struggling relief work. Mejia threw very well again with another shutout.”
Next Up: The Statesmen travel to Winfield, Kan. next Wednesday to face Southwestern in a non-conference doubleheader at 12 p.m.
