WPU Completes Sweep of PSC, Sits Atop Heart
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–WPU Baseball has been not only one of the hottest teams in the conference but one of the hottest teams in the nation.
William Penn (25-6, 11-3 Heart) entered Sunday’s showdown with Peru State (13-16, 10-6 Heart) atop the Heart of America Athletic Conference standings and an opportunity to sweep the Bobcats at Penn Field.
The lineup remained hot and a gutsy pitching performance led the Navy and Gold to a 9-4 victory, completing the sweep and remaining at the very top of the conference.
Lionel Colon (Jr., Vieques, P.R., Business Management) got the start in game three of the series. The Puerto Rican native delivered a brilliant performance, lasting seven innings, allowing only one earned run on four hits and striking out seven. Colon picked up the win, helping him remain perfect in his first campaign in a Statesmen uniform, improving to 5-0.
After Colon gave up his lone earned run in the top of the third, WPU struck back with a pair in the bottom of the frame thanks to a two-run longball off the bat of Blaze Speas (Sr., O’Fallon, Mo., Wellness and Recreation). It was his second two-run homer in as many days and his fifth of the season.
The following inning, Boston Romero (Sr., Fairfield, Calif., Sociology) kept his recent hot streak going as he unloaded a towering blast over the right field fence to extend the lead to 3-1. The home-run was the seniors first of the season. Nathan Ball (Sr., Moses Lake, Wash., Psychology) added an RBI single in later in the inning, scoring Dominic Bravo (Jr., Downey, Calif., Digital Communication).
William Penn added a run in the fifth to grow the lead to 5-1 but they really broke it open in the seventh and Romero’s big day got even bigger. Following a two-out Seth Reisbeck (Sr., Meridian, Id., History/Government) walk, Romero stepped up to the plate and hit his second round tripper of the afternoon to give his squad a 7-1 lead. Jaylan Jones (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Sociology) singled home Bravo in later in the inning giving the Statesmen an 8-1 lead.
The Bobcats, much like in game two, wouldn’t go down quietly however as the visitors added three runs of their own in the top of the eighth to cut the lead in half, 8-4 but once again the William Penn lineup responded.
For good measure, Jarrett Hunt (Jr., Logan, Utah, Digital Communication) doubled home a run in the bottom of the eighth and push the lead back to five entering the final inning of play.
Chase Stratton (Jr., Clearfield, Utah, Sports Management) came in relief and got through the final two innings of play to solidify the sweep over Peru State.
Nine different hitters logged a hit for the Statesmen and 10 at least reached base. Adrian Garcia (Jr., Ontario, Calif., Mechanical Engineering) (2-3), Hunt (2-5), Reisbeck (2-4), Romero (3-4), and Ball (2-4) all logged multi-hit games. Romero led the way with three RBI’s, Speas produced two RBI’s, while Jones and Ball each had one run batted in.
At 11-3 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, the Statesmen, who have now won five straight, lead the Clarke Pride by 0.5 games in the conference.
Next Up: The Statesmen will host Hannibal-LaGrange in non-conference action on Tuesday at Penn Field with first pitch scheduled for 2 pm.
