William Penn Concludes Season with 4-2 Loss to SAU
William Penn University Athletics
Davenport–Kyle Mauricio (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn., Physical Education) had four hits Saturday, but his efforts were not enough to keep the Statesmen baseball team alive in the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament, falling 4-2 to St. Ambrose.
#1 seed William Penn (23-18) was eliminated by the #4 seed, ending the careers of nine seniors. The 2013 class included Ricky Alvarez (Sylmar, Calif., Sociology), Danny Erece (Chula Vista, Calif., Physical Education), Nick Kirby (Palmdale, Calif., Physical Education), Joel Medina (Palmdale, Calif., Sociology), Jayme Mueller (Mundelein, Ill., Sociology) Roy Perez (Avondale, Ariz., Physical Education), Chris Redfern (Stratford, Ontario, Digital Communications), Julio Riojas (Silvis, Ill., Physical Education), and Nathan Wood (Tucson, Ariz., Business Management).
The Fighting Bees (15-25) scored first, putting two runs across in the bottom of the second against starting pitcher Jared Shoning (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, Business Management).
William Penn answered right back in the top of the third, beginning with a lead-off single by Mauricio. The junior, who finished 4-for-5 (WPU outhit SAU 9-6), scored three batters later on a single by Enrique Alvarado (Lancaster, Calif., Sociology). Mueller followed Mauricio’s one-bagger with a hit-by-pitch and came home on a fielder’s choice by Wood to make it 2-2.
St. Ambrose tacked on the game’s final two runs in the sixth, and despite putting 17 runners on base (nine in scoring position), the Statesmen were unable to extend their season to another contest.
William Penn had the tying run on base in the eighth, but Medina was thrown out at home to end the frame. The squad went down in order in the ninth.
Shoning finished with three strikeouts against four walks in 5 2/3 innings. The freshman (2-3) was replaced by Corey Lathram (So., Brentwood, Calif., Physical Education) in the sixth. Lathram, who made his team-best 20th appearance of the year Saturday, only permitted one baserunner (a hit) in 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
