Statesmen Snag Pair of Walk-Offs Against Bobcats

Oskaloosa--The William Penn baseball team opened its four-game Heart of America Athletic Conference series against Peru State with two thrilling walk-off wins Saturday.

WPU (23-18, 11-15 Heart) took the opener 4-3 and also won the nightcap 4-3 (8 innings).

William Penn got on the board first in the opener, putting up two runs in the third inning. Franklin Aparicio (Sr., Panama City, Panama, Business Management) doubled before Tim Jean (Sr., Libertyville, Ill., Public Accounting) came through with an RBI single to bring him in.  After being moved to second on a single by Nick George (Jr., Sarina, Ontario, Sociology), Jean eventually came around on a PSC error.

After five scoreless innings, PSC (12-21, 9-15 Heart) finally found success in the sixth inning, tallying three runs to take a 3-2 lead.  The navy and gold responded in the bottom of the frame, however, as a leadoff single from Abraham Arroyo (So., Camuy, P.R., Wellness and Recreation) was followed by Nathan Jessell (Jr., Napa, Calif., Sociology) getting hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second.  A couple batters later, Trevor Dooley (Jr., Prole, Iowa, Computer Science) came through with a single to tie the game at 3-3.

After shutting down the Bobcats in the top of the seventh, William Penn began the bottom half with a double by Aparicio.  Jean then dropped a bunt down the third base line, which advanced Aparicio to third, while a throwing error by the third basemen permitted him to take the final 90 feet and score the winning run.

Jean led the Statesmen charge with three hits and two RBIs, while Aparicio was next with two hits of his own.  Dooley also finished with one hit and one RBI.  Overall, WPU held a 10-6 edge in hits and also took advantage of Peru State's two errors.

Brian Thomas (Jr., Shingle Springs, Calif., Sports Management) went the distance for the win, allowing three runs on six hits, while striking out 10 batters and walking two.

The nightcap saw Peru State put two runs on the board in the first inning.  WPU was able to get one run right back in the bottom of the frame as Jean got things started with a double.  Arroyo then delivered another double to score his teammate.

PSC added a run in the fourth inning for a 3-1 edge, but the navy and gold again had an immediate response in the bottom half as Jessell, who was hit by a pitch, scored on a wild pitch.

Jean's fifth-inning double was piggybacked by an RBI single from George to knot the nightcap at 3-3.  After tying the contest, the Statesmen had a chance to walk it off in the seventh inning, but came up short to send things to extras.

Jessell singled to start the bottom of the eighth and was subsequently sacrificed to second by Craig Johnson (Sr., Crystal, Minn., Physical Education).  E.J. Roncone (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Sports Management) then replaced Jessell on the basepaths and came in with the day's second walk-off as Jean singled up the middle.

Jean had a team-high three hits, while Jessell followed with two base knocks.  Both Dooley and Arroyo tallied a hit and an RBI.  The Statesmen secured a narrow 9-8 advantage in hits.

George did not allow an earned run (three unearned runs) while scattering seven hits in 6 1/3 innings of work as the starter; he struck out six batters against four walks.  Stetson Denning (Sr., Queen Creek, Ariz., Sports Management) collected the win in relief as he limited PSC to one hit in 1 2/3 innings (one strikeout).

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Sunday to host Peru State in another Heart doubleheader at 1 p.m.