William Penn Wins Both on First Day at Home

Oskaloosa--After three weekends on the road to start the 2024 season, the Statesmen baseball team finally got to enjoy playing on its own grass and dirt as it hosted a pair of games Friday.

WPU (7-6) defeated Midland (Neb.) 2-0 and Judson (Ill.) 8-5 at Statesmen Ballpark.  The squad has now won five of its last six games.

Abel Madueno (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif., Business Management) was excellent on the mound against the Warriors (8-4) and he got just enough offense so as to not waste his masterful outing.

The hosts posted a 6-1 edge in hits with Jessell recording the most impactful base knock.  After three scoreless frames, Justin Martinez (Sr., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management) doubled to the left-center gap and Nathan Jessell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Sociology) brought him around with another double to the same part of the field for the first run of the game.

The following inning, the navy and gold tacked on an insurance run, beginning with Zach Otten (Jr., Mapleton, Ill.) reaching on a single and moving up another 90 feet on an error.  After a one-bagger by Hector Dominguez (So., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) advanced him to third, the junior finally scored, tagging up on a sacrifice fly by Martinez.

Madueno took it from there, putting MU down in order in the sixth and seventh innings, including tallying three strikeouts.  For the game, the junior struck out nine batters and walked just one in the one-hit complete game shutout.  After permitting a base runner in both the second (walk) and third (single), he retired the final 14 Midland hitters he faced.

Dominguez and Martinez each managed two hits in the home opener, while Jessell also got on twice via a hit and a walk.

The hosts needed little time to get on the board in the day's nightcap as Nick George (Sr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology) made it 2-0 by sending a pitch over the left-center fence (also scoring Otten) for his second home run of the season.

The Eagles (1-9) answered with a run in the top of the second, but William Penn pushed the margin up to three at 4-1 with third-inning RBI singles from Jessell and Andres Pineda (So., Colombia, Business Management).

JC did its most damage in the fourth, pulling even at 4-4 with a trio of runs in an inning where it took advantage of a Statesmen error.  Fortunately, the navy and gold regrouped and went back on the attack.  Aiden North (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) singled home Abraham Arroyo (Jr., Camuy, P.R., Wellness and Recreation) in the bottom of the fourth, while Froymer Ortega (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla., Wellness and Recreation) also clubbed a one-bagger to plate Dominguez.

An inning later, Ortega did it again, this time scoring two as Martinez and pinchrunner Adrian Ayala (Fr.,. Omaha, Neb., Exercise Science) both touched home plate on a single to right field.

Judson tried to make it interesting in the seventh, scoring once, but Bret Whiffen (Sr., Green Bay, Wis., Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) shut the door to record the victory.  The senior did it the unconventional way, entering in the fourth frame and working 3 1/3 impressive bullpen innings for WPU's triumph.  He struck out six against one walk and only permitted one unearned run (no hits).

The offense was by-committee against the Eagles with eight different players tallying a hit, including two by Dominguez, Jessell, and Ortega.  As a squad, William Penn owned an 11-8 edge in base knocks, while also collecting six walks.

"Abel Madueno was obviously quite dominant on the hill against a solid Midland team," Head Coach Mike Laird said.  "Offensively, Hector Dominguez was outstanding at the plate in both games."

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday, hosting Judson at 1 p.m. and Midland at 3:30 p.m.