Statesmen Win Opener, Drop Nightcap at Peru State
William Penn University Athletics
Peru, Neb.–The William Penn baseball team hit well in the first contest against Peru State, but came up short in the second matchup as it split a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday.
The Statesmen (13-6, 4-2 Heart) won the opener 8-2, but fell in the nightcap 11-5.
After two scoreless frames to begin the afternoon, the visitors broke through with three runs in the top of the third. Anthony York (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Physical Education) tallied a two-run double and Robert Phiakeo (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management) managed to bring in two more on a single.
Phiakeo again singled home two runs in the fourth; the senior finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs. The team’s scoring finished up with one more run in the sixth as Marcus Littleton (Jr., Norwalk, Iowa, Communications) touched home plate on a single from Daniel Macias (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Physical Education). Macias topped the navy and gold by going 4-for-5 with two runs scored.
York, who was 3-for-5, produced a squad-best three RBIs in addition to a pair of runs. William Vazquez (Jr., North Hollywood, Calif., General Accounting) and J.P. Rios (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management), who scored two runs, both finished 2-for-4. Littleton also touched all of the pads twice.
The Bobcats (6-16, 1-5 Heart) scored twice in the sixth, but they drew no closer. Eight of WPU’s nine starters had a base knock as the Statesmen held a 16-8 edge in hits.
Dylan McDonald (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Industrial Technology) improved to 4-1 as he struck out four with two walks in six innings of work. Tyler Martinez (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Sociology) tossed a scoreless seventh inning as well.
William Penn also experienced a nice start to the second matchup with Macias hitting a lead-off triple and then scoring on Phiakeo’s single.
Unfortunately, the home team took advantage of a pair of Statesmen errors en route to five runs in the bottom of the first inning. PSC never looked back from there.
WPU closed to within two at 6-4 with three runs in the third. Macias singled in a run and scored himself in the frame.
After a Peru State run in the bottom of the third, Phiakeo finished his fine day with a run-scoring double to make it 6-5 in favor of the hosts in the top of the fifth. The Bobcats closed with the final four runs, however, to prevent William Penn from claiming the sweep.
PSC outhit WPU 16-7 and the Statesmen committed four errors. Phiakeo was 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and Macias was 2-for-4 with three runs scored.
Frankie Nunez (Jr., Lemon Grove, Calif., Sociology) took the loss, permitting five earned runs in five innings pitched. The junior, who is now 3-1, came up with six strikeouts against two walks. Martinez entered out of the bullpen for the second-straight game and gave up just one run in 2 2/3 innings.
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Friday to host Avila in a Heart doubleheader at 1 p.m.
