William Penn Takes One on First Day of Mount Mercy Series

Oskaloosa--The William Penn baseball team started its weekend series against Mount Mercy with a split of a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday.

WPU (16-18, 9-13 Heart) won the opener 4-1, but dropped the nightcap 15-9.  The sides will conclude their four-game set Sunday with another twinbill in Oskaloosa beginning at 1 p.m.

The hosts allowed the first run of the day in the top of the fourth, but answered right back in the bottom half as Keoni Young (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science) cleared the fence in left-center with a solo home run.

Still tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the navy and gold took advantage of the contest's lone error as they tallied three unearned runs with two outs having already been recorded.  Juan Perez (Jr., Harlem, N.Y., Sports Management) and Aiden North (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) both managed run-scoring singles to highlight the go-ahead frame.

Abel Madueno (Sr., San Bernardino, Calif., Business Management) made the lead stick, permitting just four total hits, while striking out six (one walk).  Only three MMU players reached scoring position in the opening matchup.

The home squad tallied seven base knocks with Bradley Soto (Jr., Davenport, Fla., Business Management) finishing 3-for-4 at the plate.  Zach Otten (Sr., Mapleton, Ill., Business Management) added a hit and a walk as well.

The nightcap was a slugfest as WPU and MMU combined for 24 runs and 27 hits, while also committing six errors.  The Mustangs (21-16, 13-8 Heart) grabbed the early advantage with three runs in the top of the third, but the Statesmen responded with three of their own in the next half inning.

William Penn found various ways to get the job done in the third, including Abraham Arroyo (Grad., Camuy, P.R., Master's of Sports Management) being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Hector Dominguez (Jr., Fontana, Calif., Exercise Science) bringing in a run on a sacrifice fly.  Young wrapped up the frame with an RBI single.

Mount Mercy then had a huge fourth inning with six runs, but the Statesmen nearly got all of them back with a five spot in the fifth.

RBI singles came from Ened Perez (So., Orocovis, P.R., Kinesiology), Jagger Mitchell (Jr., Rock Springs, Wyo., Business Management), and Juan Perez, while North drove in a pair on a one-bagger.

The hosts produced one more run in the sixth, but were unable to slow down the Mustangs, who added six more late-inning tallies as WPU had settle for a Saturday split.

Ten Statesmen finished with a hit in the second outing, led by North's 3-for-5 showing (3 RBIs), while Young was 2-for-4.  Four others notched one base knock and one walk as well.

"Abel Madueno pitched great in the first game, while Aiden North, Bradley Soto, and Zach Otten all hit well during the day," Head Coach Mike Laird said.  "Unfortunately, our defense was not good in the second game.  We needed a couple more hitters to step up as well."