Statesmen Open Heart Play with Split Against Bobcats

Peru, Neb.--The William Penn baseball team started its Heart of America Athletic Conference slate Sunday by splitting a doubleheader with Peru State.

WPU (8-6, 1-1 Heart) won the opener 11-3 before dropping the nightcap 5-4.

The navy and gold took a bit to get going as they trailed 2-0 after four innings on the diamond.  Bradley Soto (Jr., Davenport, Fla., Business Management) finally ignited the lineup in the top of the fifth frame with a solo home run to right field.

Zach Otten (Sr., Mapleton, Ill., Business Management) then doubled home Ened Perez (So., Orocovis, P.R., Kinesiology) later in the inning and scored as well via an RBI single from Carlos Herrera (Jr., Bronx, N.Y., Kinesiology).

It started a stretch of 11 unanswered runs for the visitors that was highlighted by a five-run sixth.  Abraham Arroyo (Grad., Camuy, P.R., Master's of Sports Management) recorded the biggest hit of the frame with a two-run single, while Juan Perez (Jr., Harlem, N.Y., Sports Management) (single) and Aiden North (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) (walk) also tallied RBIs.

Otten started the seventh-inning scoring with a two-run one-bagger, while Herrera notched another RBI single.

WPU outhit PSC 12-5 with Otten finishing 3-for-4 with four RBIs.  Soto and Herrera managed two-hit efforts as well, while Herrera and Arroyo both drove in a pair of scores.  Soto paced the Statesmen with a trio of runs, while Ened Perez and pinchrunner Justin Knudson (So., San Jose, Calif., Sports Management) touched home plate twice as well.

Abel Madueno (Sr., San Bernardino, Calif., Business Management), who permitted just one earned run in six innings, struck out 12 (three walks) in the victory.

William Penn tried to collect the sweep with a pair of come-from-behind victories, but fell just short as five fielding errors doomed the squad in the nightcap.

The Bobcats (6-12, 1-5 Heart) ran out to a 4-0 advantage through three innings, but WPU got one back in the third on Ened Perez'e single that plated Keoni Young (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science).

The lead again grew to four in the bottom of the fifth with what would prove to be the decisive run.  The Statesmen kept fighting, however, scoring three times in the sixth, but it was not enough.

Ened Perez singled in pinchrunner Adrian Ayala (So., Omaha, Neb., Exercise Science), while North's one-bag drive into left field scored both Ened Perez and Soto.  Soto reached base on an error in the seventh, but was stranded there as the rally was turned away.

Ened Perez and Hector Dominguez (Jr., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) both went 2-for-4 as WPU lost the hits battle 9-7.

Joseph Taylor (So., Hemet, Calif., Kinesiology) struck out five batters in five innings of work as WPU's starting hurler.

"We did not play our best baseball," Head Coach Mike Laird said.  "Most of our hitters had trouble adjusting, but Abel Madueno pitched very well though in the first game.  We unfortunately left too many pitches over the plate in the second game and had a poor defensive effort.  We need to come ready to play on Monday."

Next Up: William Penn remains in Peru, Neb. Monday to face Peru State in another Heart doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.