Three Homer as Statesmen Salvage Twinbill Split

Quincy, Ill.--The William Penn baseball team opened a four-game series against Culver-Stockton with a split of a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Monday.

The Statesmen (15-6, 3-3 Heart) lost the opening contest 5-4 before taking the nightcap 14-2 over the Wildcats (5-15, 1-4 Heart).

The home team got on the board early in the opener with a solo home run in the bottom of the first.  After going scoreless in the first two innings, the navy and gold were able to push across two runs in the third behind a single from Nick George (Jr., Sarnia, Ontario, Sociology and Human Services).

Culver-Stockton quickly tied the game in the bottom of the third frame on another homer, but WPU responded in the top half of the fourth as the first three batters got on to load the bases. Franklin Aparicio (Sr., Panama City, Panama, Business Management) then came through with a fielder's choice RBI to take a 3-2 advantage.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats scored in the bottom half to tie the game back up 3-3.

The sixth inning saw two Statesmen outs before Aparicio broke the deadlock with a solo roundtripper down the left field line. WPU kept the home team off the board in the bottom of the sixth, but could not replicate the effort in the seventh as the Wildcats were able to walk it off with a two-run frame to take the opener 5-4.

George got the start and gave up three runs on six hits through five innings of work. He struck out four batters and walked three.  E.J. Roncone (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Sports Management) came on in relief and was saddled with the loss, permitting two runs on one hit in one frame of work with one strikeout and two walks.

Aparicio and George both had good performances with two RBIs apiece, while Tim Jean (Sr., Libertyville, Ill., Public Accounting) had a three-hit game.  George and Justin Martinez (Jr., Bronx, N.Y., Sports Management) each tallied two hits in the setback.

After a back-and-forth battle in the first outing, William Penn came out with hot bats in the nightcap.  George got things going in the second inning with a solo home run to right field.  A few batters later, Blair Speas (So., O'Fallon, Mo., Undecided) delivered an RBI single as the Statesmen took a 2-0 lead.

The third inning saw the navy and gold tally another run with Nathan Jessell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Sociology) coming through with an RBI single. Runs kept coming for the Statesmen in the fourth inning as, after a single by Speas, the hot bat of Aparicio came through again with an RBI double as WPU jumped out to a 4-0 edge.

Culver-Stockton was able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, but it would be the closest the Wildcats would get as William Penn put up a five spot in the top of the fifth.  Abraham Arroyo (So., Camuy, P.R., Wellness and Recreation) started the big inning with a walk and later scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jessell.  Dillan Schrock (Sr., Shingle Springs, Calif., Sociology) and Speas kept things going with RBI singles, while Aparicio capped off the inning with a two-run single as the Statesmen led 9-1.

After permitting a run to C-SC, the navy and gold posted three more runs in the sixth as Trevor Dooley (Jr., Prole, Iowa, Computer Science) drilled a ball over the right field wall for a three-run home run.

The seventh inning saw William Penn finish off the lopsided affair with two more runs as Jean and George both came through with RBI singles.

Brian Thomas (Jr., Shingle Springs, Calif., Sports Management) got the win in game two behind a five-inning performance in which he gave up two runs on four hits, while striking out six batters and walking three. Joel Holguin (So., San Bernardino, Calif., Sociology) relieved Thomas in the sixth inning and shut down the Wildcats. He faced eight batters, giving up no runs on no hits, while striking out four batters and walking two.

Aparicio had three hits with three RBIs and two runs, while George and Speas both tallied three base knocks with two RBIs and three runs.  Dooley drove in three runs and rounded the pads twice.

"We had some poor at-bats at times in the first game and did not locate some of our pitches," Head Coach Mike Laird said.  "We pitched better and hit much better in the second game.  We need to get two tomorrow."

Next Up: The Statesmen will head down to Canton, Mo. to finish off the four-game series with Culver-Stockton with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.