Oskaloosa--The William Penn baseball team was unable to claim its weekend series as it was swept by Mount Mercy in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday.
WPU (16-20, 9-15 Heart) fell by scores of 7-5 and 8-3, dropping three of the four contests during the weekend.
Power hitting dominated the first battle as eight of the 12 total runs scored were recorded off home runs.
MMU (24-16, 16-8 Heart) scored once in the top of the first on a solo roundtripper, but Hector Dominguez (Jr., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) bettered that effort with a three-run shot in the bottom half, also plating Keoni Young (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science) and Bradley Soto (Jr., Davenport, Fla., Business Management).
The visitors pulled with one in their next at-bats, but the Statesmen extended their edge over the next two frames. Young powered a solo bomb in the third, while Zach Otten (Sr., Mapleton, Ill., Business Management) pushed Andres Pineda (Jr., Colombia, Secondary Education) across with a single in the fourth for a 5-2 lead.
Unfortunately, Mount Mercy closed with five unanswered runs, including four seventh-inning tallies to claim victory. A three-run homer served as the difference in the game.
WPU was outhit 12-7 with Soto and Young each recording two base knocks.
Hunter Thornton (Jr., Bartonsville, Ill., Sports Management) pitched well in his start, giving up just three runs on eight scattered hits; he struck out two Mustangs and walked three.
A Soto two-run home run pushed William Penn out to a 2-0 advantage after one inning of the nightcap. Abraham Arroyo (Grad., Camuy, P.R., Master's of Sports Management) also scored on the hit.
MMU responded with five runs over the three ensuing innings before Otten drove in Pineda on a fourth-inning one-bagger.
The Mustangs again closed strong, though, tallying three insurance runs in the seventh to secure Sunday's sweep.
A 10-9 deficit in hits for WPU was compounded by three fielding errors. Soto, Dominguez, and Otten all ended the bout with a pair of base knocks.
Joseph Taylor (So., Hemet, Calif., Kinesiology) went the distance on the mound, striking out seven in the setback; just five of the seven runs he permitted were earned.
"Hunter Thornton pitched well, but we could not close it out for him," Head Coach Mike Laird said. "Several errors plagued us today. We have also had more injuries than any year I can remember. That alone has really killed out lineup."
Next Up: William Penn travels to Des Moines next Friday to face Grand View in a Heart doubleheader at 1 p.m.
