William Penn Opens Year with Quartet of Games in Kansas

Salina, Kan.--The Statesmen baseball team played four very competitive contests as it started the 2025 campaign in the Jayhawk State Saturday and Sunday.

WPU (1-3) came up short in the season opener, falling 9-8 to McPherson (Kan.) in 10 innings.  The squad then finished the day with a 6-4 victory over Science and Arts (Okla.).

On Sunday, the navy and gold fell 4-2 (8 innings) to Doane (Neb.) before dropping another 4-2 decision to weekend host and No. 12 nationally-ranked Kansas Wesleyan.

Doane and Science and Arts are both receiving votes nationally; USAO is the preseason favorite to win the Sooner Conference as well.

McPherson 9, WPU 8

In a bout that featured three ties and three lead changes, Abraham Arroyo (Grad., Camuy, P.R., Master's of Sports Management) got his crew on the board with a solo home run in the top of the first inning.

MC answered with four runs in the bottom half, while WPU got two of those scores back in the second, including a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch by Marco Ayala (Sr., San Francisco, Calif., New Media).

Down 5-3 in the fifth, Keoni Young (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science) again put William Penn on top by clearing the fence with a three-run homer.  The lead was short-lived, however, as the Bulldogs tallied two runs in the bottom half.

The navy and gold leap-frogged McPherson once more, however, as Jagger Mitchell (Jr., Rock Springs, Wyo., Business Management) singled in Ayala in the sixth, while Young powered another home run--this one a solo shot in the seventh--to make it 8-7 in favor of WPU.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs tied the contest with one run in the bottom of the seventh and then won in walk-off fashion in the 10th.

The Statesmen were outhit 16-6 with Young pacing them by going 2-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored.  Arroyo also scored twice in addition to drawing a trio of walks.  WPU was selective at the plate, collecting 10 total walks in the setback.

Andres Pineda (Jr., Colombia, Secondary Education) took the loss, but was strong out of the bullpen as he gave up only one run (five hits) in 3 2/3 innings.  He struck out four and walked three.

WPU 6, Science and Arts 4

In their only triumph of the weekend, the Statesmen did all of their damage in the fourth inning.

Trailing 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth, Arroyo started the big frame with an RBI single that plated Mitchell.

Juan Perez (Jr., Harlem, N.Y., Sports Management) then stepped into the batter's box with the bases jammed and promptly unloaded them with a grand slam.

Aiden North (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) concluded the fourth by doubling in Carlos Herrera (Jr., Bronx, N.Y., Kinesiology).

The Drovers trimmed the margin to two in the waning innings, but William Penn held on in the end.

Dreyton LaVeine (Sr., West Burlington, Iowa, Sociology) nearly went the distance, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight innings over 6 2/3 innings.

With the tying and go-ahead runs on the pads, Tyler Corkhill (So., Costa Mesa, Calif., Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) managed to induce a lineout to finish the matchup.

Both squads tallied eight base knocks with eight separate WPU batters posting one hit each.  Ened Perez (So., Orocovis, P.R., Kinesiology) recorded one hit along with one walk.

Doane 4, WPU 2

Outhit 8-4, the Statesmen took the early advantage with two runs in the second.  Hector Dominguez (Jr., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) and Zach Otten (Sr., Mapleton, Ill.), who were on base via a walk and hit-by-pitch, respectively, both advanced after Bradley Soto (Jr., Davenport, Fla., Business Management) drove a double into right field.  A throwing error by the second USAO's second baseman then allowed both WPU players to score.

Unfortunately, the Tigers answered with one run in both the third and fourth frames to force extra innings.  DU then capped the rally with two runs in the eighth.  Despite putting runners on base in five of the last six innings, William Penn was unable to add to its tally in the losing cause.

Soto posted two hits, while Dominguez notched one base knock and one walk.  North drew two walks as well.

Joseph Taylor (So., Hemet, Calif., Kinesiology) stayed on the mound for the entire eight frames, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits.  He produced three strikeouts versus one base on balls in the complete-game setback.

Kansas Wesleyan 4, WPU 2

In the weekend finale, all six of the game's runs were produced in the first three innings.

William Penn managed its initial score in the first inning as Justin Knudson (So., San Jose, Calif., Sports Management) touched home via a Coyote error, while KWU took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom half.

Soto cut the deficit in half as he cleared the right-center fence with a solo roundtripper.  Unfortunately, the home team added an insurance run in the third and held off WPU with four scoreless innings.

Herrera, with two hits, and Arroyo and North, with one hit and one walk each, all reached base twice.

Hunter Thornton (Jr., Bartonsville, Ill., Sports Management) tossed 5 1/3 frames, giving up four runs on six hits, while striking out two with four walks.

"We played decent Saturday, considering the level of competition," Head Coach Mike Laird said.  "We unfortunately did not play very well Sunday.  We failed to execute offensively on several occasions which resulted in us dropping two close games that we could have won.  We have some guys who are still adjusting to this level of baseball."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Joplin, Mo. Saturday and Sunday, February 15-16.  On Saturday, WPU meets Northwestern at 11 a.m. and Culver-Stockton at 4 p.m., while on Sunday the Statesmen take on Concordia (Neb.) at 1:30 p.m. and Graceland at 4 p.m.  Of note, although Culver-Stockton and Graceland are in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with WPU, the matchups are non-conference games.