William Penn Enjoys Early Easter Basket as Win Streak Moves to 13
William Penn Women's Athletics
Mount Pleasant–The Lady Statesmen softball team took advantage of huge playing dimensions as it pounded the ball around at the Betty Sammons Classic hosted by Iowa Wesleyan Friday and Saturday.
William Penn (28-11) won all five games as it competed on slow-pitch fields with dimensions of around 300 feet to the fences (normal softball fences are around 190-210 feet away). All of the four-bag hits were inside the park as no one had a chance to clear the very distant enclosures.
The Lady Statesmen started with a 10-2, six-inning win over Purdue-North Central (Ind.) before slipping past St. Francis (Ill.) 5-4 and pounding Benedictine-Springfield (Ill.) 11-5.
On Saturday, the navy and gold crushed Robert Morris (Ill.) 9-3 and Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 11-0 (5 innings). The program has now won 13 straight games, its longest streak since taking 16 in a row in 2007.
William Penn 10, Purdue-North Central 2
Topped by four-hit showings from Ashlee Dennis (Fr., Loveland, Colo., Mountain View HS) and Ashley Stream (Sr., Chariton, Chariton HS), William Penn produced 16 base knocks. It was also assisted by six P-NC errors with only four of the Lady Statesmen runs being earned.
Stream scored three times and Brittni Reyes (Sr., Vacaville, Calif., Solano CC) recorded two RBIs.
Both of the runs against Jennifer Whitehead (So., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) were unearned. She struck out seven against two walks in a three-hit showing.
William Penn 5, St. Francis (Ill.) 4
The Lady Statesmen needed to come from behind against the Saints by scoring four runs in the latter innings.
Rikki Picariello (Sr., Port Coquitlam, B.C., Olympic CC) managed an RBI triple in the third, while Stream rounded the bases on a two-run shot in the fourth.
Stream’s two-hit showing was the guide to an 8-7 edge in hits. Brianne Rowley (Sr., Hood River, Ore., Blue Mountain CC) scored twice, while Nicole Danna (Jr., Boone, Iowa Central CC) struck out three (two walks) in the win.
William Penn 11, Benedictine-Springfield 5
KC Routos (Jr., Newcastle, Wash., Pierce CC) connected on a three-run homer in the first to pace the navy and gold. She finished with five RBIs and two run scored.
The Lady Statesmen finished with a 13-6 margin in base knocks with Khyia Lewis (Sr., Ottumwa, Ottumwa HS) posting a 3-for-4 showing (two RBIs). Dennis, Rowley, Routos, and Reyes reached base twice courtesy of their bat prowess. Rowley touched home base four times, while Routos and Molly Miller (Jr., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS) did so two times each.
Amber Daly (Sr., Napa, Calif., Solano CC) had three strikeouts and is now 5-2 on the year. William Penn’s defense nearly gave the game away in committing a season-high seven errors. Only one of B-S’s five runs was earned.
William Penn 9, Robert Morris 3
Rowley homered twice (now has 13) in helping her team avenge an earlier-season loss to Robert Morris. The Lady Statesmen outhit their foes 14-8 as Rowley was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
Dennis, Lewis, Routos, and Reyes tallied two hits apiece. Lewis, who also touched all four bases on a sixth-inning hit, produced two RBIs as did Christine Gamble (Sr., Pahrump, Nev., Pahrump Valley HS). Miller and Lewis also scored twice.
Whitehead scattered her hits to only allow three runs (two earned). The sophomore (12-6) struck out five with two walks.
William Penn 11, Hannibal-LaGrange 0
An eight-run fifth frame lifted William Penn to yet another ‘W’. Danna also stepped up by nearly tossing a complete game. Already the owner of two one-hitters, the junior (11-3) added another to her resume by only permitting a fourth-inning single. Eight batters were sent to the dugout on strikeouts.
Eight of the nine Lady Statesmen starters had hits (9-1 WPU), including two by Dennis, who also had three RBIs. Two runs were driven in by both Rowley and Stream and Stream and Picariello scored two times each.
Next: William Penn travels to Dubuque Wednesday to face Clarke in a Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
