William Penn Athletics News–April 22
William Penn University Athletics
Statesmen Sweep Mustangs, 1-0 and 7-1
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team will go into the final weekend of the season with a chance to defend its league title after sweeping Mount Mercy in a Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader Tuesday.
The Statesmen (24-14, 11-9 MCC) won by scores of 1-0 and 7-1. WPU trails league leader Viterbo (12-6) by two games entering this weekend’s four-game set at AIB in Des Moines (both twinbills start at noon). AIB is currently second at 11-7 and St. Ambrose is third at 12-8.
Both squads were kept off the scoreboard through the first five and a half frames of Tuesday’s opener. The Mustangs (11-26, 7-13 MCC) left five runners in scoring position up to that point, while William Penn also threatened with runners in the first three innings. The hosts finally broke through in the sixth, though, when Stan Simmons (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Physical Education) led off with a single and scored two batters later on a double by Nick Perez (So., Greeley, Colo., Physical Education).
Josh Ruiz (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., General Mathematics) was terrific in six scoreless frames, giving up only four hits with three strikeouts and one walk. The junior, who is now 5-0, handed the ball to
Matt Vasquez (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Business Management) to close it out and he did with a perfect seventh for his first save in the navy and gold. It is the fourth shutout Ruiz has been a part of this spring.
Kyle Mauricio (Sr., Ardene Hills, Minn., Physical Education) was 2-for-2 and almost drove in the first run with a third-inning single, but Perez was thrown out at home. Simmons matched Mauricio by also going 2-for-2. The teams combined for just nine hits (5-4 in favor of WPU).
The offenses were still a bit quiet in the nightcap, but the Statesmen still found plenty of ways to score, beginning with Cory DeRush (Jr., Grand Junction, Colo., Business Management) coming around in the first. He led off with a hard chopper that took a nasty hop and injured Mount Mercy’s third baseman. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, the junior scored on a Mauricio groundout.
Three more runs were tallied in the third, beginning with a run-scoring single by Ryan Keeton (Jr., McCordsville, Ind., Biology). Perez and Simmons then drew bases-loaded walks to extend the advantage. WPU had just two hits in the third inning, but took advantage of four walks.
Sho Serrano (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Physical Education) made it 5-0 in the fourth as he led off with a double and scored on one of the Mustangs’ two errors. His work was not done, however, as his fifth-inning triple produced the squad’s final two runs. The junior’s 2-for-3 effort helped William Penn outhit Mount Mercy 6-4.
MMU tallied its lone run of the day on a Statesmen error in the sixth, but Kyle Maldonado (Jr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) was otherwise quite strong in his first outing since April 6 (injured). He improved to 4-0 by permitting just the one unearned run on four hits in six innings. The junior had two strikeouts against three walks.
Juvenal Terrazas (Jr., Sylmar, Calif., Physical Education) wrapped up the win with a perfect seventh inning that included one strikeout.
WPU Pummels St. Ambrose for Pair of Mercy-Run Victories
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen softball team could not have had a better start to a very long last week of the season with a Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader sweep of St. Ambrose Tuesday.
William Penn (28-17, 14-4 MCC) won by scores of 9-1 in six innings and 11-3 in five innings. The Statesmen, who will play eight more games this week (six in the MCC), currently trail league-leading Grand View (15-3) by just one game. The teams will square off in the regular season finale Sunday in Oskaloosa.
The hosts dodged a bullet in the top of the first and then went to work at the plate, producing one run in the bottom half when Malloree Grove (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, Physical Education) scored on one of the Queen Bees’ two errors.
SAU (27-18, 12-6 MCC) responded with one run in the second, but WPU took the lead back for good with two more runs in the third. The contest was put out of reach with a five-run fourth frame, highlighted by a two-run single by Jessica Christensen (So., Marysville, Wash., Sociology).
Brittanee Grove (Jr., Runnells, Iowa, Elementary Education) then capped the victory by opening the fifth with a walk-off solo home run. Grove now leads the Statesmen with 13 homers. The first five batters in the lineup were stellar, going a combined 8-for-16, including 2-for-3 efforts from Christensen and Bri Zerley (Jr., Monroe, Iowa, Biology). Brittanee Grove was also 2-for-4.
Christensen drove in three runs, while Brittanee Grove and Jorden Steele (Jr., Tacoma, Wash., Physical Education) both managed two RBIs. Malloree Grove, Brittanee Grove, Christensen, and Sydney Edwards (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology & Biology) all rounded the pads twice in the opener. William Penn outhit St. Ambrose 9-5.
Jennifer Whitehead (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) was solid, giving up one unearned run on five hits. She struck out five and walked three.
It is no secret that WPU will need Whitehead to be at her best for a lengthy postseason run, so to build up her endurance she took to the pitching rubber in the nightcap as well.
Behind another stout offensive performance (WPU had a 12-3 edge in hits), Whitehead improved to 19-7 on the season. She was not perfect, but held her own, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits, while striking out two and walking one.
Fortunately, perfection from the southpaw was not needed. The Statesmen scored three times right away in the first and never trailed. Zerley produced a two-run double, while Steele also had a run-scoring single.
Edwards had the big base knock in the second, bringing in two on a triple. It was then Steviee Grove (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, History/Government) who took her turn at being the offensive hero. The senior had an RBI one-bagger in the third and then unleashed a three-run home run in the fourth–her second this year.
It was sister Brittanee, though, who managed yet another walk-off hit with a double to plate Edwards in the fifth. She joined Christensen, Steele, and sister Steviee by finishing 2-for-3. Steviee Grove tallied four RBIs, while Edwards and Zerley each had two. Edwards, who was 1-for-2 with two walks, scored twice as did Christensen and Zerley.
Next: William Penn travels to Des Moines Wednesday to face AIB in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
