William Penn Suffers Slow Start to Spring Break Trip

Tucson, Ariz.--The Statesmen softball team came out of the gate a bit slow in The Grand Canyon State, dropping its first four spring break trip contests Sunday and Monday.

On Sunday, WPU (10-8) fell to Concordia (Neb.) 5-2 and Jamestown (N.D.) 8-7.  On Monday, the navy and gold came up short against Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 9-0 and Northwestern 3-2.

Concordia (Neb.) 5, WPU 2

Despite posting an 8-7 edge in hits, the Statesmen failed to come away with a trip-opening victory over the Bulldogs.

Down 2-0 entering the third frame, Bailee Rinn (Jr., Omaha, Neb., Biology) singled home Marin Frazee (So., Sioux City, Iowa, Exercise Science) to cut the deficit in half.  CUNE added three unanswered before Tori Smith (So., Olympia, Wash., Secondary Education) drove in sister Laila Smith (So., Olympia, Wash., Elementary Education) with a sixth-inning single.

The Statesmen put the tying run at the plate in the seventh, but they could not muster up any additional tallies.

Both Smith sisters finished with two hits, as did Rinn.  Tori Smith also struck out four in five innings as the starting pitcher.  She permitted three earned runs on seven scattered hits, while Madie Anderson (Sr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Elementary Education) kept the game close with two scoreless innings (one strikeout) in relief.

Jamestown 8, WPU 7

The Statesmen once again won the hitting battle 12-11, but could not complete their rally against the Jimmies.

Ella Pierce (Sr., McClelland, Iowa, Business Management) opened up the scoring with an RBI single that plated Jessica Lathrop (Fr., Ankeny, Iowa, Exercise Science) in the top of the first, while UJ responded with a run of its own in the bottom half.

Maci Rutledge (Fr., Chadron, Neb., Nursing) and Chelsey Huff (Sr., Douds, Iowa, Exercise Science) gave the lead back to their crew in the third when Rylee Riesberg (So., Ankeny, Iowa, Exercise Science) singled them in.  Jamestown countered with three unanswered over the next two frames for a 4-3 edge.

Peyton Naranjo (So., Ripon, Calif., Biology) pushed Kya Butler (Jr., Newton, Iowa, Sports Management) home with a fifth-inning single to knot the score at 4-4, but the next two innings were dominated by the Jimmies with four runs.

WPU made a big push in its final at-bats as Laila Smith powered a delivery over the fence for a three-run home run.  Unfortunately, the deficit remained at one as the final out was recorded.

Eight different players recorded a base knock with Laila Pelds (Jr., Pleasant Hill, Iowa, Elementary Education) guiding the way at 3-for-4.  Naranjo was 2-for-3 with a walk, while Ella Pierce and Frazee both produced a hit and a walk.

Huff managed four strikeouts in four innings in the circle; two of the four runs she allowed were unearned.

"We definitely showed some rust in our first day outside," Head Coach Laura North said.  "We need to clean it up on defense; had we done that, we would have had two wins on the first day.  We cannot get them back, however, so we have to learn from it and prepare for future games.  I give credit to Concordia and Jamestown.  They are both solid teams and are well-coached."

Dakota Wesleyan 9, WPU 0

Little went right for the navy and gold against the Tigers as they were outhit 16-4.  Huff held the game together, though, with five impactful relief innings.  The senior permitted just one run (unearned) on six hits, while striking out four.

Northwestern 3, WPU 2

The lowest scoring game of the first two days witnessed the teams matching in hits (7-7) and errors (2-2).  Unfortunately, William Penn's early advantage was erased by the Red Raiders and the Statesmen could not come up with an answer.

Pelds singled home Frazee in the second, while Ella Pierce's bases-loaded hit-by-pitch brought in Laila Smith later in the inning

NWC tallied all three of its runs in the fourth inning to grab the lead for good.  WPU was able to put runners on base in the fifth and sixth frames, but came up empty on both occasions.

Anderson was efficient in a complete-game effort, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits.  The senior finished with three strikeouts against two walks.

Next Up: William Penn remains in Tucson, Ariz. Tuesday, facing Westcliff (Calif.) at 10 a.m. (CST) and Valley City State (N.D.) at 1 p.m. (CST)