William Penn Athletics News–April 27
William Penn University Athletics
Long Balls Help Secure Outright Title on Final Day
Oskaloosa–The William Penn softball team only needed to win once Sunday to lock up an outright Midwest Collegiate Conference crown and did that just before Mother Nature cut the day short.
The Statesmen (33-17, 19-4 MCC), winners of seven straight, defeated Grand View 5-4, while the second game was called due to inclement weather in the top of the second and will not be concluded.
WPU will now have several days off before looking to pick up the title sweep as it will host the MCC Final Four Tournament next Saturday and Sunday in Oskaloosa.
The home squad led from the beginning with Sydney Edwards (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology & Biology) hitting a solo shot in the bottom of the first. Brittanee Grove (Jr., Runnells, Iowa, Elementary Education) added two more runs in the third with a two-run roundtripper–her 14th–that also scored sister Malloree Grove (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, Physical Education).
GVU (26-24, 16-7 MCC), which will also receive an opening-round bye as the #2 seed, got on the board with one run in the fifth. The navy and gold answered right back, though, as Edwards and Jessica Christensen (So., Marysville, Wash., Sociology) both had solo homers. Edwards now has six HRs, while Christensen has four. WPU has produced ten home runs in three matchups with the Vikings this spring.
William Penn was outhit 8-6 with four of those visiting base knocks coming in the seventh. The Vikings rallied with three runs in the top half against Jennifer Whitehead (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology). Fortunately, the senior induced a game-winning groundout, leaving the tying run at third and go-ahead score at second.
Edwards finished 2-for-3, while Jorden Steele (Jr., Tacoma, Wash., Physical Education) (two walks) and Sonia Ray (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Physical Education) (one hit, one walk) also reached base twice.
Whitehead (23-7) gave up four runs (all earned) on eight hits. She managed six strikeouts with two walks.
WPU Drops Regular Season Finale in Extras
Des Moines–The Statesmen baseball team will enter postseason play in a bit of a funk after falling to AIB 1-0 in nine innings in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Sunday.
William Penn (24-17, 11-12 MCC) put eight players in scoring position, including three at third, but failed to come away with any runs in losing for the third time in two days to the Eagles (21-17, 14-7 MCC).
The visitors’ best chance came in the first, but Kyle Mauricio (Sr., Ardene Hills, Minn., Physical Education) was thrown out at home. Cory DeRush (Jr., Grand Junction, Colo., Business Management) led off the second with a walk and got 90 feet away, only to get stranded there.
Leadoff batters also got on the pads in the fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. Unfortunately, WPU just could not produce the timely hit, while AIB finally tallied the day’s only run in the ninth on a passed ball.
Nick Perez (So., Greeley, Colo., Physical Education) paced the offense by going 2-for-2, while DeRush walked twice. William Vazquez (Fr., North Hollywood, Calif., General Accounting) and Enrique Alvarado (Sr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology) also got on base twice with a hit and walk each. William Penn was outhit 9-7.
Josh Ruiz (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., General Mathematics) was strong in the start, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up six hits, struck out three, and walked one. Jacob Logan (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology) took the loss, allowing the lone unearned run on one hit in three frames. Matt Vasquez (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Business Management) was on the mound at the end of the matchup, tallying one out overall.
The day’s second contest was rained out. William Penn will now wait to see if it is the #4 or #5 seed for next week’s MCC Tournament. If Grand View loses even once to Clarke on Tuesday, WPU will be #4, but if the Vikings sweep the Crusaders, the Statesmen will be #5. The tourney will be contested at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo from Saturday-Tuesday, May 3-6.
