William Penn Athletics News April 24
William Penn University Athletics
Statesmen Win Two at Bellevue Tourney
Bellevue, Neb.–The William Penn baseball team returned to the .500 mark with a pair of come-from-behind wins over non-conference foes at the Bellevue IHOP Easter Invitational Saturday.
The Statesmen (22-22) defeated Missouri Valley 5-4 and host Bellevue 4-2.
Despite being outhit in both games, William Penn found a way to victory with late runs.
Down 1-0 to the Vikings (21-22), Stanley Muller (Jr., Tucson, Ariz., Cochise CC) tied the game up in the bottom of the first by scoring on a sacrifice fly from Jerry Hernandez (Sr., Moreno Valley, Calif., Chaffey CC).
Missouri Valley regained the advantage with three more in the fifth, but the Statesmen had the last say with four unanswered, including two in the bottom half of the frame. Back-to-back doubles by Evelio Ahumada (Jr., Hacienda Heights, Calif., Citrus CC) and Kyle Humphrey (Sr., Boise, Idaho, Skagit Valley CC) accounted for one run, while Humphrey scored in the next at-bat on a Hernandez groundout.
Richard Romero (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., West Hills CC) started the sixth with a double and his pinchrunner Tony Mancuso (Jr., Covina, Calif., Citrus CC) made it all the way around to knot the contest at 4-4.
Hernandez was then hit by a pitch to lead off the seventh and Mancuso replaced him on the pads. The junior was moved to second on a groundout and tagged up on a flyout to get 90 feet closer. He finally scored the game-winning run on a single into right field by Dirck Jackman (Sr., San Jose, Calif., Mission CC).
The Statesmen lost the hits category 8-7 and committed four errors, but solid outings by starter Dennis Neal (Jr., San Leandro, Calif., Laney CC) and reliever Brad McGuire (So., Covina, Calif., Citrus CC) pulled them through.
Neal allowed four runs (none earned) on seven hits over five innings of work. He struck out eight with a walk, but did not figure into the decision.
McGuire claimed the victory (1-2) in tossing two scoreless frames. The sophomore gave up one hit and produced two strikeouts.
Ahumada and Jackman topped William Penn with two hits apiece.
Down 2-0 entering the third inning, the Statesmen needed another rally to drop Bellevue (24-18). Fortunately, the squad did not fold up shop, putting one across in the third on a Hernandez single that scored Muller.
Still facing a deficit with one out in the top of the seventh, Muller and Ahumada started the rally with consecutive walks. Another strikeout forced William Penn against the wall, but Hernandez kept his team alive with a single to bring in Muller.
Brad Chin (Jr., San Rafael, Calif., San Rafael HS) then provided the biggest hit of the game, doubling into the right-center gap to score pinchrunner Mancuso and Hernandez with the tying and go-ahead runs.
Darren Gay (Jr., El Cajon, Calif., San Diego Mesa CC) carried it home, striking out two in the bottom half to secure the win. The junior (4-2) allowed two runs (both earned) on nine hits in a complete game. He tallied four strikeouts without a walk.
The Bruins outhit the Statesmen 9-6, while Hernandez managed a 2-for-4 showing.
Next: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Wednesday to host Central Methodist (Mo.) in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
Stepter Wins Second Gold of Week
Grinnell–Carlos Stepter (Sr., Highland Park, Mich., Highland Park HS) guided a small contingency in the navy and gold as the William Penn track and field teams competed at the Dick Young Classic hosted by Grinnell Saturday.
Stepter won his second 100-meter dash title in three days (also at Central on Thursday), again with a time of 10.77 seconds. His win helped the Statesmen to sixth place in the standings, while Wartburg won the team title with 241 points.
Tyler Shipley (Fr., State Center, West Marshall HS) made his season debut and placed twice in the jumps, taking third in the triple at 39-10 and seventh in the long at 19-6.75.
Walter Herron (Jr., Houston, Texas, Westfield HS) improved on his season best with a javelin throw of 136-10 to finish seventh.
Shannon Saunders (Tucson, Ariz., Rincon HS) was the only Lady Statesmen in the field, taking home eighth in the long jump at 13-4.
Next: William Penn will send most of its competitors to Indianola Friday and Saturday for the Kip Janvrin Open hosted by Simpson. Others may see action during the weekend at the prestigious Drake Relays in Des Moines.
William Penn Little Threat to Ranked Foes
Des Moines–The Lady Statesmen softball team discovered it still has plenty of room for improvement after falling twice to ranked teams at the Grand View Classic Saturday.
William Penn (32-14), who received one national vote this week, lost to #24 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 10-1 (5 innings) and #19 Saint Xavier (Ill.) 9-1 (5 innings).
The Tigers (41-11) scored one in the first and then blew the game open with six more in the third. William Penn got on the board with its lone run in the bottom half of the third on a Cassie Lohman (So., Burbank, Calif., Providence HS) double that brought in Molly Miller (So., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS).
Three additional Olivet Nazarene runs were plated in the fourth as the Lady Statesmen were outhit 11-5. Amber Daly (Jr., Napa, Calif., Solano CC) claimed the loss to fall to 13-6. The junior allowed ten runs (nine earned), while striking out two and walking one.
Jennifer Whitehead (Fr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) tried to get her team back on track in Saturday’s second matchup and battled through three scoreless innings to extend her streak to 32 frames.
Unfortunately, the Cougars (30-12) finally broke through in the fourth for two runs and then battered the freshman with seven more marks in the fifth (only two of those runs were earned).
William Penn needed two in the bottom half to stay alive, but only one came across. Ashley Nieto (Jr., Cement City, Mich., Jackson CC) brought in that run with a single to plate Athena Rosario (Jr., Bremerton, Wash., Olympic CC). The Lady Statesmen lost the hits battle 11-4.
Whitehead (18-7) gave up nine runs (four earned) with two strikeouts and three walks.
Next: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Monday to host Graceland in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
