Whitehead’s No-No, Lewis’ Walks Highlight Sweep of Clarke
William Penn Women's Athletics
Dubuque–The wheels on William Penn’s bus keep going round and round as the Lady Statesmen softball team swept Clarke in a Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader Wednesday.
William Penn (30-11, 13-1 MCC) won by scores of 10-0 (5 innings) and 8-5 (9 innings). The squad has now claimed victory in 15 consecutive games.
The visitors scored in all five innings of the first game, including four in the fourth frame.
Cassie Lohman (Jr., Burbank, Calif., Providence HS) crushed a two-run home run (her first of 2012) in the third and finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored. KC Routos (Jr., Newcastle, Wash., Pierce CC) was also 2-for-3, while Molly Miller (Jr., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS) and Ashley Stream (Sr., Chariton, Chariton HS) posted two hits apiece in four at-bats.
Khyia Lewis (Sr., Ottumwa, Ottumwa HS) drew four intentional walks (two runs) to break a single-game school record (since 1999) for bases on balls. Brittni Reyes (Sr., Vacaville, Calif., Solano CC) also touched home plate twice. The Lady Statesmen tallied 12 hits in the opener.
All of this failed in comparison to a great pitching performance by Jennifer Whitehead (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS). The reigning MCC Pitcher of the Year tossed her first career no-hitter, only permitting two batters to reach base on hit-by-pitch. She struck out six in the win.
The nightcap was a different story with the navy and gold battling into extra innings.
Clarke (6-18, 4-8 MCC) finally scored its first run of the day in the first inning, but William Penn answered right back with two in the second on a two-run single by Miller. The junior stepped up as the team’s leadoff batter, going 4-for-6 with five RBIs and one run scored.
The Crusaders regained the advantage in the fifth, going up 3-2 and putting pressure on the visiting team to rally late. They did fortunately as Miller led off the seventh with a double and was brought around on a single by Routos in the next at-bat to force extra action.
Both programs pushed a run across in the eighth with Routos doing the damage on a double to plate Ashlee Dennis (Fr., Loveland, Colo., Mountain View HS).
The Lady Statesmen finally ended the night in the ninth with four runs, highlighted by a three-run double by Miller. Callie Henry (Jr., Earlham, Ellsworth CC) also recorded her first base hit at William Penn, singling home Lewis, who was again an integral part of the storyline in a strange way.
The senior was denied a single pitch for the second-straight contest, being intentionally walked all five times she stepped into the box. For the night, Lewis broke the single-game walks mark with four and then re-broke it with five. The strategy, although extremely unconventional, paid off for Clarke for the most part as she only scored once in the nightcap.
The home team scored once against reliever Whitehead, but failed to extend the matchup in the bottom half. Whitehead (14-6) entered at the start of the fifth frame and gave up just two runs (both earned) on four hits. She struck out five and walked a pair in winning twice on Wednesday.
Nicole Danna (Jr., Boone, Iowa Central CC) was game two’s starter, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits in four innings of action. She managed three strikeouts against one walk.
Routos finished 3-for-5 in addition to two RBIs, while Dennis was 2-for-2 with two runs. Reyes rounded the pads twice as well. William Penn outhit Clarke 12-11.
Next: William Penn travels to Morrison, Ill. this weekend for the second MCC Weekend of the year. On Saturday, the Lady Statesmen face St. Ambrose at 11 a.m. and Mount Mercy at 1:15 p.m. On Sunday, William Penn plays Viterbo at 11 a.m. and Ashford at 1:15 p.m.
