Statesmen Use Varying Approaches to Sweep Peru State
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The William Penn softball team won a tight opener, but then powered through for an easy nightcap victory as it swept Peru State in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday.
WPU (15-13, 6-2 Heart), which has won a season-high four games in a row, defeated the Bobcats (3-17, 2-10 Heart) by scores of 1-0 and 10-2 (6 innings).
Both of the opening-game starting pitchers were impressive as the sides combined for just seven total hits (5-2 in favor of the home team) and were scoreless entering the bottom of the fifth.
Abby Young (Jr., Dunlap, Ill., Exercise Science) led off the frame with a single and was bunted into scoring position. Sonia Reddy (Jr., Tracy, Calif., Exercise Science) then finally broke the scoreless tie as she singled up the middle to plate Young with the game’s lone run. Reddy was 2-for-3 at the plate and also stole a base.
Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology) was masterful through six innings, but walked the lead-off batter (she then stole second) in the top of the seventh. Clinging to a one-run advantage, the Statesmen made a call to the bullpen and Katie Springer (Sr., Riverside, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) to shut the door, and she did with three consecutive outs.
Perry notched six strikeouts against four walks, while allowing the lone two base knocks in six frames of action. Springer earned the save with one frame of work.
In complete contrast to its struggles from the opener, the navy and gold offense destroyed Bobcat pitching in the nightcap, especially in the first inning.
Reddy and Lexi Resa (So., Liberty, Mo., Biology) drew back-to-back walks to start the frame and then Emily Brown (Sr., Waverly, Iowa, Biology) cleared the bases with a three-run home run over the left-center fence.
Lindsay Lambert (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif., Elementary Education) joined the power parade with a solo shot of her own down the left-field line in the next at-bat. The roundtripper is Brown’s second of the year and the first for Lambert.
Savannah Fleming (Sr., Gooding, Idaho, Exercise Science) then made it 5-0 in the third as her single plated Whitney Stone (Fr., Roseburg, Ore., Education). Up 5-2 entering the bottom of the fifth, WPU, which held a 15-5 advantage in hits, extended its lead to 8-2 in the fifth with three additional runs. Hayley Freestone (Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) headlined the efforts with a two-run single.
William Penn then finally put the twinbill to rest in the sixth as Stone drove in Young with a double and Kiya Harper (Jr., Decatur, Ill., Exercise Science) singled in Lambert to complete the run-rule win.
Eight Statesmen recorded a base knock in the nightcap, led by Brown, Lambert, and Harper each going 3-for-4 at the dish. Brown had three RBIs, while Freestone and Fleming tallied two apiece; Lambert also touched home plate twice in the victory.
Springer carried her dominant pitching into the second game, striking out two against two walks in a complete game.
