WPU Wins Extra-Inning Affair to Split with Clarke
by Wade Steinlage
Dubuque–The Statesmen softball team tallied 29 hits Wednesday as it split a pair of Heart of America Athletic Conference matchups with Clarke.
WPU (21-31, 12-20 Heart) won the opener 11-8 in nine innings, but dropped the nightcap 2-1.
The visitors scored first with one in the third and then added three more in the fifth, courtesy of a solo home run by Kiya Harper (Jr., Decatur, Ill., Exercise Science) and a two-run blast from Lindsay Lambert (Jr., Elk Grove, Calif., Elementary Education). Harper now leads the program with five homers, while Lambert has doubled her season tally to two.
The advantage grew by one more to 5-0 in the sixth before the Pride (10-27, 8-24 Heart) began their comeback. The home crew put four on the board in the sixth and then knotted up the contest with another in the seventh to force extras.
It would serve as the seventh time William Penn has played beyond regulation and the second time in a row; the Statesmen entered 3-3 in those battles.
Harper notched two more RBIs on a single in the eighth (she later scored as well) as part of a three-run frame. Unfortunately, a three-run roundtripper by the Pride brought things to even once again and the teams ventured to the ninth.
Following a run-scoring double via Sonia Reddy (Jr., Tracy, Calif., Exercise Science), Harper added to her career day by driving home two more runs. The junior finished 3-for-6 with five RBIs and two runs scored.
Clarke fortunately could not come up with a response, and the Statesmen, who rapped out 20 hits, held on for the victory.
Reddy also produced career-high results, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored, while Abby Young (Jr., Dunlap, Ill., Exercise Science) matched her with four base knocks of her own. Emily Brown (Sr., Waverly, Iowa, Biology) was 3-for-6, while Lambert and Fleming contributed 2-for-5 performances; Fleming also scored two times. The first five batters in William Penn’s lineup finished a combined 16-for-28.
All four Statesmen hurlers stepped into the circle in the first game, but it was starter Karlee-Rose Perry (Sr., Kaupo, Hawaii, General Biology) who had the best success. The senior, who re-entered the game for a short stint in the eighth, eventually picked up the win, working 6 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and one walk. She allowed five runs (four earned) on just two hits.
WPU’s bats were active in the second game as well as the visitors owned a 9-8 edge in hits. Unfortunately, that activity only netted one run with Harper collecting another RBI. The Statesmen left runners in scoring position in five different frames.
CU knotted up the matchup in the third and then won in walk-off fashion in the seventh.
Fleming and Freestone were both 2-for-3 in the setback, while Katie Springer (Jr., Riverside, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) posted a strong complete-game effort with eight strikeouts versus two bases on balls in a losing cause.
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday to host Central Methodist in a Heart doubleheader at 1 p.m.
