Wild Win in Season Finale Nets Postseason Bid for Statesmen
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team finished the 2024 regular season in crazy fashion as it split a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Grand View Saturday.
WPU (22-25, 14-18 Heart) dropped the opener on Senior Day by a 9-3 score, but rebounded with a 17-12 win in the nightcap. The win, coupled with losses by Clarke, allowed the Statesmen to grab the final spot in next week’s eight-team Heart Championship. The bracket has yet to be finalized as there are still games to be played Monday.
The navy and gold were outhit 13-4 in the opener, but did grab a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second. Joel Holguin (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif., Sociology) pounded a solo shot over the left field fence, while pinchrunner Justin Knudson (Jr., San Jose, Calif., Sports Management) scored on a sacrifice fly by Nathan Jessell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Sociology).
Unfortunately, GVU (24-21, 15-17 Heart) rallied back with four unanswered before Nick George (Sr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology) also cleared the wall in right field with a solo roundtripper in the fifth inning to pull WPU within two at 5-3.
The Vikings, however, scored four times in the seventh to pull away.
Blair Speas (Jr., O’Fallon, Mo., New Media) recorded two hits, while Holguin had one base knock and one walk.
Due to the setback, the second game became a must-win for the Statesmen and they left it all on the field in a game that featured 29 runs, 28 hits, and five errors.
William Penn sprinted out a 6-0 advantage after the first inning in a matchup where no lead was safe. Abraham Arroyo (Jr., Camuy, P.R., Wellness and Recreation) and Zach Otten (Jr., Mapleton, Ill.) both had RBI singles, while George produced a two-run homer.
Grand View unfortunately responded with 10 runs in the second, but Hector Dominguez (So., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) took one back right away with an RBI double in the bottom half.
The visitors extended their edge to 12-7 in the top of the fourth, only to see the navy and gold jump all over Viking pitching to the tune of eight runs on the bottom side. Justin Martinez (Sr., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management), Dominguez, and Jessell all tallied two-run base knocks, while Arroyo also drove in a run.
Arroyo, who finished 5-for-5 with four RBIs and four runs scored, left the park with a two-run home run in the sixth.
Dominguez was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while Otten was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Jessell, Martinez, and George all ended up with two RBIs, while Holguin, George, and Speas touched home plate on two occasions each. Both sides finished with 14 hits.
After William Penn’s first two starting pitchers struggled on the mound, Abel Madueno (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif., Business Management) entered in the fourth and, despite having pitched a complete game just two days earlier, thoroughly shut down the Vikings the rest of the way. The junior tallied five strikeouts in four innings of one-hit shutout ball.
“We had a tough first game with a couple of infield miscues, but we overcame some huge deficits to get a huge win in the second game,” Head Coach Mike Laird said. “Abel Madueno was outstanding out of the bullpen, while Abraham Arroyo had a great day after missing nearly eight weeks.”
