Statesmen Finish Weekend Sweep of Peru State

Oskaloosa--The William Penn baseball team wrapped up a successful weekend on the diamond as it finished off a four-game sweep of Peru State in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Sunday.

WPU (25-18, 13-15 Heart) took the opener 8-3 and also won the nightcap 8-3.

The home team opened the day's scoring in the bottom of the first when Tim Jean (Sr., Libertyville, Ill., Public Accounting) came around on a single by Nathan Jessell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Sociology).

WPU tallied three more runs in the second inning as two walks and an error loaded the bases for Nick George (Jr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology).  The junior then worked a bases-loaded walk to drive in the first score, while Abraham Arroyo (So., Camuy, P.R., Wellness and Recreation) singled to right field to plate both Jean and Franklin Aparicio (Sr., Panama City, Panama, Business Management).

Peru State (12-23, 9-17 Heart) was finally able to get on the board in the fourth frame as it pushed across two runs.  William Penn responded, however, with four runs in the fifth inning, beginning with a single by Trevor Dooley (Jr., Prole, Iowa, Computer Science).  He was then pinch-ran for by Cody DePardo (Sr., Davenport, Iowa, Sports Management) who scored on a double off the bat of Leland Riley II (Fr., Victorville, Calif., Kinesiology).

Craig Johnson (Sr., Crystal, Minn., Physical Education), who pinch ran for Riley II, then scored from second on a PSC error.  A walk by Jean set up an ensuing RBI single to right field from George that scored Aparicio.  Arroyo wrapped up the big inning with a one-bagger to bring in Jean to make it 8-2 in favor of the Statesmen.

The away team scored once more in the sixth inning, but it was not enough as WPU took the day's first contest.

Arroyo led the way at 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while Trevor Dooley (Jr., Prole, Iowa, Computer Science) managed two base knocks.  George drove in two, while Jean scored three times and Aparicio came around twice.  Overall, WPU outhit PSC 10-7 and also took advantage of the Bobcats' two errors.

Matt Shover (Grad., Barry, Ill., Master's of Sports Management) went the distance for the win, giving up just three runs on seven hits, while striking out four batters and walking two.

The nightcap saw the Statesmen again score first as a single from George was followed by a double from Arroyo put the navy and gold up 1-0 after one inning of action.  Unfortunately, the Bobcats responded in the second with a home run to tie the game at 1-1.

Peru State left the park two more times--both solo shots--in the third frame to go up 3-1.  Fortunately, WPU answered with three tallies in the bottom of the frame.  Blair Speas (So., O'Fallon, Mo., Undecided) led off with a double before advancing to third on a wild pitch.  An error then allowed the sophomore to touch home plate.

William Penn went on to load the bases and added another run via a walk from Arroyo.  The hosts took the lead for good a bit later as Jessell's fly ball to center field was deep enough for Jean to tag up and score.

The navy and gold were not done as they added four more runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a three-run home run from Arroyo.

Ty Harter (So., Galesburg, Ill.) pitched three innings as the Game 2 starter, allowing three runs on five hits; he struck out three.  Stetson Denning (Sr., Queen Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) relieved Harter in the fourth inning and completely rolled over the visitors.  The senior permitted just four hits and managed three strikeouts in four shutout frames.

The Statesmen overcame being outhit 9-7; Peru State once again committed two errors in the nightcap.

Arroyo again had the hot bat, going 2-for-2 with five RBIs.  Speas matched him with a 2-for-2 showing, while Jean scored twice in the victory.

"It is great to finish off the weekend sweep against a very good team like Peru State," Head Coach Mike Laird said.  "Our pitchers were solid throughout the series and several hitters really came through."

Next Up: William Penn will remain in Oskaloosa next Friday to host Mount Mercy in a Heart doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.