Statesmen Unable to Capture Final Games at Penn Field

Oskaloosa--The William Penn baseball team was unable to capture the last two games of a four-game series against Grand View in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday.

In the final games at the historic Penn Field, WPU (17-10, 5-7 Heart) fell by scores of 7-3 and 7-6.

Grand View got on the board first in the opener, putting up four runs in the second inning. WPU was then able to respond in the bottom half of the inning loading the bases after two quick outs. Franklin Aparicio (Sr., Panama City, Panama, Business Management) then was hit by a pitch bringing in a run, although that was all the Statesmen were able to produce.

After two scoreless frames from both squads, William Penn cut into the GVU lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Aparicio got on base with a single and advanced to second on a groundout. Nick George (Jr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology) then came through with an RBI single to plate Aparicio making it a 4-2 game.

After giving up four runs early, Stetson Denning (Sr., Queen Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) settled into the contest and gave up only five runs on eight hits, while striking out four batters and walking one in six innings of work.

In the seventh inning, Grand View pushed across three more runs as they increased its lead to 7-2. Heading into the bottom of the seventh the navy and gold had a lot of work to do to try and complete the comeback. Back-to-back walks from Justin Martinez (Jr., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management) and Nathan Jessell (So., Napa, Calif., Sociology) put runners on base for the Statesmen. Holguin then singled to right field to load the bases for WPU. Leland Riley II (Fr., Victorville, Calif., Kinesiology) followed with a single of his own driving in Martinez. The was all the navy and gold could get as they lost game one 7-3.

George and Holguin led the way in hits for the Statesmen with two, as George also finished with an RBI. While Aparicio and Riley II both had hit and RBI.

The nightcap saw William Penn get on the board first in the second inning. After the Statesmen loaded the bases, Blair Speas (So., O'Fallen, Mo., Undecided) was walked which brought in Jessell from third. Aparicio then came through with a sacrifice fly to right field which plated Riley II. A fielder's choice then allowed Abraham Arroyo (So., Camuy, P.R., Wellness and Recreation) to score from third as WPU got out to an early 3-0 lead.

The Statesmen got things going again in the third inning as back-to-back singles from Holguin and Jessell, lead to a Riley II RBI single to bring Holguin around to score. The fourth inning saw WPU plate another run as this time a walk from Aparicio followed by a hit by pitch from George, allowed Martinez to come through with an RBI single to left field which plated Aparicio.

GVU was finally able to get thing going in the fifth inning plating two runs to make it a 5-2 game. William Penn responded back in the bottom of the sixth with one run as Jessell laid down a sacrifice bunt which scored Craig Johnson (Sr., Crystal, Minn., Physical Education) from third.

The seventh was rocky for the navy and gold as the away team was able to put up five runs to take a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. After two quick outs for the Statesmen, Aparicio and Jean came through with back-to-back singles. Trevor Dooley (Jr., Prole, Iowa, Computer Science) was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for WPU. Unfortunately, William Penn could not capitalize on the situation and fell 7-6 in game two.

Jessell had the hot bat in game two for the Statesmen has he finished with three hits and one RBI. While several others tallied one hit and one RBI in the loss.

Ty Harter (So., Galesburg, Ill.,) started the contest for the navy and gold, as he allowed one hit on two runs (one earned), while striking out three batters and walking three as well. Matt Shover (Grad., Baryy, Ill., Master's of Sports Management) came on in relief in the fifth inning for the Statesmen. He allowed three runs on four hits with no walks or strikeouts. Aparicio took the mound in the seventh inning for the Statesmen allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits.

"Tough day for us." Head Coach Mike Laird said. "We let the second game get away and our relief pitching could not match Grand View hitters."

Next Up: William Penn will remain in Oskaloosa this Friday, as they will face off against MidAmerica Nazarene in a Heart doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.