Oskaloosa–The Statesmen baseball team got back on track over the weekend by taking of three of four games against Mount Mercy in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
William Penn (14-12, 4-8 Heart) won Saturday’s opener 11-6. The team then took the nightcap, which was suspended due to fog and concluded Sunday, by a score of 11-1.
On Sunday, the navy and gold dropped the first contest 7-3 before rallying to win the second outing 6-3.
WPU 11, Mount Mercy 6
The hosts opened the weekend with 15 hits, including a first-inning double by Cory Russell (Sr., El Cajon, Calif., Education) that plated Jeysen Delgado (Jr., Harbor City, Calif., Kinesiology).
WPU then posted four runs in the second with three coming on another two-bagger, this one via Anthony Aguila (Jr., Highland, Calif., Kinesiology).
MMU (12-15, 5-7 Heart) trimmed the margin to 5-3, but the Statesmen secured the win with five tallies in the bottom of the fifth. Aguila, who was 2-for-3 with five RBIs, once again produced the big base knock, doubling in a pair of runs.
Dominik Sawyer (Sr., Chula Vista, Calif., Psychology and Human Services), who was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, capped his effort by driving in Raskin in the sixth. The senior helped William Penn to a 15-13 triumph in hits.
Delgado, Russell, and Fabian Gutierrez (Jr., Selah, Wash., Communications) were all 2-for-4 in the win with Russell posting two RBIs. Colton Johnson (Sr., Westminster, Calif., Physical Education), Delgado, and Julian Villegas (Jr., Wilmington, Calif., Sociology) all touched home plate on two occasions each.
Nick Seipel (Jr., Rosemont, Minn., Software Engineering) went five innings in the start, permitting just one earned run on eight scattered hits. He struck out one against three walks.
WPU 11, Mount Mercy 1
A seven-run fourth frame snapped a 1-1 tie. The inning actually stretched into two days as the game was suspended in the fourth due to a thick fog that rolled in late Saturdayevening.
The Statesmen outhit the Mustangs 10-7 in the victory, but no hit was bigger than Johnson’s in the fourth as he stepped up with the bases loaded and cleared them with a grand slam over the left-field fence. The home run is his first of 2017.
Aguila matched him one inning later with a three-run shot–his third roundtripper of the year. He, Delgado, and Gutierrez all went 2-for-3 at the dish with two runs scored apiece. T.J. Murphy (Jr., Woodenville, Wash., Exercise Science) also scored two runs in the matchup.
D.J. Milam (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Business Management), who earned the win, struck out three (one walk) in four innings. He only permitted one run (earned) on five base knocks.
Scott Simpson (Jr., Berwick, Victoria, Exercise Science) took the hill to begin Sunday and kept the trend going, tossing three scoreless frames (two hits), while sitting two down on Ks (two BBs).
Mount Mercy 7, WPU 3
The home team got off to another good start, but could hold off the visitors, who scored all of their runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
WPU narrowly lost the hits battle 10-9 with Delgado finishing a perfect 3-for-3. Gutierrez added two more base knocks.
Trent Barnett (So., Eddyville, Iowa, Accounting) was productive in 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings. He permitted two hits, had two strikeouts, and walked one MMU hitter.
WPU 6, Mount Mercy 3
Despite playing so well Saturday, William Penn was at risk of earning only a split after dropping Sunday’s opener and then falling behind 3-0 in the nightcap.
Still down three runs at the midway point, the offense finally woke up and cranked out five runs on six hits in the fourth. Delgado brought in two on a single and Aguila capped the inning with a run-scoring double.
The Statesmen, who outhit MMU 11-8, added an insurance run in the sixth. Delgado was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Wilson Lorenzo (So., Fort Myers, Fla., Computer Science) was also 3-for-4. Jared Goodman (Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif., Physical Education) contributed two more hits and Saenz touched home plate twice in pinch-running situations.
Brian Harrity (So., Castle Rock, Colo., Software Engineering) nearly went the distance, permitting three earned runs on eight hits in six innings of action. The sophomore’s three strikeouts were countered by three walks.
Milam’s short outing Saturday kept him fresh enough to come out of the bullpen and close out the win. He collected the save with three straight outs (one strikeout).
Next Up: William Penn travels to Forest City Tuesday to face Waldorf in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage
