WPU Falls to Bellevue, Defeats Calumet-St. Joseph
Kissimmee, Fla.–The Statesmen softball team had another 1-1 day as it continued its spring break trip Monday.
William Penn (3-3) fell to Bellevue (Neb.) 5-1, but shook it off to take down Calumet-St. Joseph (Ind.) 2-1.
Although they tied the Bruins 6-6 in hits, the navy and gold could not answer their foes in the runs department.
BU (10-7), which is receiving votes nationally, got on the board first with one run in the top of the first frame. The Statesmen were able to get back to even in the bottom of the fourth and almost captured the lead.
Singles by Lexi Resa (So., Liberty, Mo., Biology), Lexi Riccardi (Sr., Redwood City, Calif., Biology), and Rachael Haessly (Jr., Alpine, Calif., Biology) loaded the bases, and then Rebecca De Leon (Fr., Ceres, Calif.) brought Resa in with a one-bagger of her own. Riccardi and De Leon guided the Statesmen with two hits each.
Unfortunately, WPU could not take advantage of a bases-loaded, one-out situation and entered the fifth only tied at 1-1.
Following a scoreless fifth inning, Bellevue pulled away with two in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
Kelsey Lint (Fr., Brooklyn, Iowa, Elementary Education) struck out six in 5 1/3 innings as she earned her first start of 2021. Peyton Parker (Jr., LaPorte City, Iowa, Sports Management) retired both batters she faced in the sixth and Ashton Brown (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa) also made an appearance in the final frame.
WPU was the first to tally a run in its bout with the Crimson Wave (0-10) as Haessly led off the second with a double and eventually touched home via a single from Avery Rayos (Jr., Henderson, Nev., Biology). The squad failed to score any more runs despite loading the bases.
CCSJ drew even at 1-1 in the second, but the Statesmen recaptured the edge in the third as Valeria Quiroga (Fr., San Benito, Texas, Sociology) opened with a double. The freshman eventually rounded the pads on a groundout by Haessly.
William Penn’s offense went fairly dormant the remainder of the contest, but the Statesmen were able to put a pair of runners into scoring position in the fifth. Nothing came of the effort though.
With the offense quieted, Dakota Kulis (Fr., Chicago, Ill., Biology) stepped up and kept the navy and gold in front in her complete-game outing. She encountered big trouble in the sixth by loading the bases with only one out, but escaped the jam en route to victory.
The freshman struck out eight batters without a walk issued, while the only run she permitted was unearned.
The Statesmen overcame being outhit 7-4; four different players had one hit apiece.
Next Up: William Penn remains in Kissimmee, Fla. on Tuesday, facing Dordt at 10 a.m. and Northwestern Ohio at 12:15 p.m. (times are CST).
