William Penn Battles but Falls Twice on Saturday in Tucson
Tucson, Ariz.– On day three of the Tucson Invitational Games, William Penn struggled in both contests Saturday, falling to Providence 6-5 before dropping a second game to Dickinson State 8-2.
Providence (MT) 6, WPU 5
Providence (7-10) jumped out to an early lead, scoring runs in the bottom of the first and second innings to take a 2-0 advantage.
WPU would not answer until the top of the fourth inning, where Tori Smith (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Secondary Education) went deep on a 0-1 pitch, putting the Statesmen within one.
The Argos extended their lead to 3-1 with an additional run in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Marin Frazee (Jr., Sioux City, Iowa, Exercise Science) tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning with a two-run homer, driving in Bailee Rinn (Sr., Omaha, Neb., Biology).
The Statesmen took the lead in the top of the sixth inning when Kya Butler (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Sports Management) scored on a passed ball, giving William Penn a 4-3 advantage.
Providence responded quickly in the bottom of the sixth, scoring to even the game at 4-4.
Kya Butler helped the Statesmen regain the lead in extra innings, flying out to left field to bring home Laila Smith (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Elementary Education) and give WPU a 5-4 advantage in the top of the eighth.
The Argos responded in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring two runs to walk off with a 6-5 victory over the Statesmen.
Dickinson State 8, WPU 2
The Blue Hawks (11-6) would score one in the top of the first, before adding three more runs in the top of the second.
The Statesmen cut into the DSU lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Laila Gutierrez (Jr., Seminole, Texas, Business Management) hit an RBI single, driving in Mckenna Vasser (Fr., Rochester, Wash., Business Management) to make it 4-1. With the bases loaded, Marin Frazee was hit by a pitch, allowing Maci Rutledge (So., Chadron, Neb., Nursing) to score and bring the score to 4-2.
Dickinson State took control for the remainder of the game, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth and adding another in the seventh to secure an 8-2 victory.
Up Next: The Statesmen return to action on Monday in the Tucson Invitational Games, facing off against Indiana Tech and Valley City State.
