William Penn Splits Against Bulldogs
Joplin, Mo.–The Statesmen baseball team rallied to claim a split of a non-conference doubleheader against Concordia (Neb.) Saturday.
WPU (2-5) won the opener 3-2, but dropped the nightcap 11-2.
Down 2-0 after three frames in the first contest, the navy and gold finally busted through in the fourth when Nick George (Sr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology) hit a one-out single, and then scored two batters later on a one-bagger off the bat of Justin Martinez (Sr., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management).
Still behind by one run in the sixth, George did the damage with a go-ahead two-run single. Leadoff batter Blair Speas (Jr., O’Fallon, Mo., New Media) reached on an error and that was followed by a double from Abraham Arroyo (Jr., Camuy, P.R., Wellness and Recreation). The pair was then driven in by George’s hit.
Abel Madueno (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif., Business Management) was solid through five innings to collect the victory. He permitted two runs on six hits, while striking out six (four walks). Ryne Chamberlin (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sports Management) held the lead with a scoreless sixth, while Keke Romero (So., Mesa, Ariz., Business Management) relieved him in the seventh and earned the save with a scoreless inning that included one strikeout. Romero stranded the tying run on third base.
Both squads tallied six hits with Arroyo topping WPU at 3-for-4. George was 2-for-4, while Froymer Ortega (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla., Wellness and Recreation) walked twice.
The day’s second game was not so pleasant for the Statesmen as the Bulldogs posted a 16-3 advantage in hits.
It was still close entering the seventh and final frame, but CUNE pulled away with a seven-run inning.
Zach Otten (Jr., Mapleton, Ill.) singled in Andres Pineda (So., Colombia, Business Management) in the third for WPU’s first run that narrowed the deficit to 3-1, while Nathan Jessell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Sociology) pushed in George with a seventh-inning single.
Five hurlers toed the rubber for William Penn with Ty Harter (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Business Management) finding the most success, tossing a pair of scoreless frames with four strikeouts (one walk).
“We still have a lot of things to work through, but our win in the opener against a really strong Concordia team is a good one,” Head Coach Mike Laird said. “Several guys stepped up and made big contributions. We are getting better, but our margin for error is extremely small with the level of competition we are playing.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Kansas City, Kan. Saturday to face Doane (Neb.) at 11:30 a.m. and Morningside at 2 p.m.
