DES MOINES — Despite a great pitching performance by Joseph Taylor (So., Hemet, Calif., Kinesiology), the William Penn baseball team was upended twice against Grand View in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday.
WPU (16-24, 9-19 Heart) fell by scores of 11-2 and 2-1 and unfortunately lost all four games of the weekend series.
The visitors, who were outhit just 13-7 in the first matchup, took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Carlos Herrera (Jr., Bronx, N.Y., Kinesiology) drove in Jagger Mitchell (Jr., Rock Springs, Wyo., Business Management) on a single to right field, while Bradley Soto (Jr., Davenport, Fla., Business Management) came around on an infield one-bagger by Aiden North (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology).
Unfortunately, the rest of the opener belonged to the Vikings (31-7, 24-4 Heart) as the home crew scored 11 unanswered runs.
Mitchell and Ened Perez (So., Orocovis, P.R., Kinesiology) both recorded two hits in the loss.
Ryne Chamberlin (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sports Management) pitched well out of the bullpen, permitting just one run on three hits in three innings of work. He struck out one and walked one in the relief effort.
The navy and gold were much better in the nightcap, holding an 8-3 edge in base knocks, but trailed 1-0 until the latter innings.
GVU put one run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, and William Penn continued to stay in the rearview until the sixth frame. The visitors finally knotted the contest when Ened Perez singled up the middle to plate Andres Pineda (Jr., Colombia, Secondary Education).
Unfortunately, the Statesmen came up empty on the weekend as the Vikings walked off with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh.
Soto finished 2-for-3, while Taylor was saddled with the loss despite a terrific start. Taylor worked six frames, allowing the two runs on only three hits, while striking out three and walking one. He put the Vikings down in order in the second, fourth, and fifth innings.
“Joseph Taylor gave us a quality start and we had a chance to win, but came up short,” Head Coach Mike Laird said. “Our defense played better, but injuries continue to plague us. Ened Perez and Jagger Mitchell both hit the ball well today.”
