WPU Drops Home Openers
Lunden Young had seven Ks in a pitcher’s duel against Bellevue
Oskaloosa–The road got bumpier Friday as William Penn’s home away from home did not provide enough of an advantage at its own tournament.
Hosting the event at the Lacey Complex, WPU (3-10) lost its only two games of the William Penn Classic (concludes Saturday) with a 4-2 setback to Culver-Stockton (Mo.) and a 3-1 defeat by Bellevue (Neb.).
Game one starting pitcher Brittanee Grove (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, Elementary Education) narrowly survived the initial frame, permitting all four of Culver-Stockton’s (5-5) runs in the top half of the first.
Sydney Edwards (Sr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology & Biology) got one of those runs back with a solo shot–her first of the season–in the bottom half to make it 4-1.
Grove then settled in, eventually out-dueling her counterpart in many ways. The senior (1-2) finished with a four-hitter, striking out four against two walks.
Unfortunately, the hosts failed to do enough offensively to get the victory. The navy and gold put runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, but could only get one player all the around. Bri Zerley (Sr., Monroe, Iowa, Biology) tallied the game’s final run in the sixth, touching home plate on a single by Marissa Pereyra (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Exercise Science).
Grove headlined a seven-hit effort by William Penn by going 2-for-2 (two walks) on her own.
Not much changed in the day’s second outing as the visiting Bruins (ranked #29 in the NAIA) got on the board right away with one run in the first. Bellevue (14-7-1) tacked on two more insurance runs in the fifth, while the Statesmen finally broke through with two outs in the seventh frame.
Although her teammates had little-to-no luck against BU pitcher Taylor Mohler (17 Ks), Chelsee Herron (Jr., Anaheim, Calif., Elementary Education) was perfect, finishing a 3-for-3 performance (one walk) with an RBI single that brought home Chyanne Koko (Fr., Waianae, Hawaii, Business Management). Two runners were stranded on the pads though as the game concluded in the next at-bat. WPU was outhit 7-4 in the loss.
The squad had six other players get into scoring position, but failed to bring any other runs across.
Lunden Young (Sr., Lewiston, Idaho, Physical Education) did well in her battle with Mohler, striking out seven Bruins (one walk) in the contest. She is now 2-5 on the year.
Next Up: William Penn opens Midwest Collegiate Conference play Saturday, hosting Clarke in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
