WPU Drops Pair of One-Run Contests
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen softball team will be happy to put this week in its rearview mirror, ending it by being swept by Benedictine in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday.
William Penn (15-21, 6-10 Heart) lost by scores of 5-4 and 4-3. The squad faced off against four of the league’s top five programs and unfortunately failed to collect any victories during the stretch. The navy and gold will look to right the ship Tuesday as they travel to Cedar Rapids to meet Mount Mercy in another Heart twinbill at 5 p.m.
A day after producing just one hit against the best crew in the Heart (Baker), the hosts took out their aggression right away as Whitney Stone (Fr., Roseburg, Ore., Education) singled home both Sonia Reddy (Jr., Tracy, Calif., Exercise Science) and Savannah Fleming (Sr., Gooding, Idaho, Exercise Science) for a 2-0 advantage after the first frame.
Reddy then kept the momentum on WPU’s side, leading off the third with a solo home run, the second of the spring for her.
The Ravens (19-13, 11-5 Heart) struck back to get within two in the top of the fourth, but the Statesmen answered in the bottom half with their own tally as Lexi Resa (So., Liberty, Mo., Biology) singled home Lindsay Lambert (Sr., Elk Grove, Calif., Elementary Education).
The tide turned abruptly in the fifth as BC played long ball, tying the contest at 4-4 on a three-run roundtripper. The visitors then captured their first lead in the sixth with another four-bagger–a solo shot–and they held off a seventh-inning challenge by William Penn to secure the victory. The navy and gold placed the tying run on third and the winning run on second, but were unable to deliver them home.
WPU held a 10-7 edge in hits with Reddy, Stone, Lambert, and Resa all recording a pair of baseknocks. Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology), who was quite effective in the first four innings of work, was relieved in the fifth, only to come back again later in the fifth after Benedictine tied the game. She finished the outing with six strikeouts (one walk) in 6 2/3 innings of work; the senior permitted two runs on three hits.
The home team had similar success in the nightcap, getting runners on base with an 11-7 advantage in hits. Unfortunately, the Statesmen again could not complete the task, leaving 11 on the pads throughout the setback.
Benedictine pulled out to a 2-0 edge after the top of the fourth, but WPU cut the deficit in half when Lambert scored on a sacrifice fly by Melina Fabian (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science).
Courtesy of a two-run sixth inning, the Ravens extended the margin to three at 4-1, but the hosts had one more gasp left for the seventh. William Penn, which stranded at least one player on base in the previous six innings, came out roaring in its final at-bats with a single by Lexi Riccardi (Jr., Redwood City, Calif., Biology), followed by doubles from Emily Brown (Sr., Waverly, Iowa, Biology) and Kiya Harper (Jr., Decatur, Ill., Exercise Science) to make it a one-run battle. Then the old left-on-base monster reared its head one more time and pinchrunner Cassie Bade (Fr., Genoa, Ill., Psychology) never advanced as the next three Statesmen were sent down in order.
Riccardi, Brown, Lambert, and Resa paced the navy and gold with two hits each. In addition to her last-inning double, Harper was also impressive in a relief appearance, striking out five (one walk) in 1 2/3 innings of work. She allowed just one hit in her outing.
