The Statesmen baseball team competed in a special doubleheader against Grand View Wednesday, but unfortunately came up on the short end both times in Midwest Collegiate Conference action.

William Penn (17-18, 7-8 MCC) lost by scores of 3-0 and 5-2. The first matchup was contested on Grand View’s campus and then the teams moved across town to play the nightcap at Principal Park, the home of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.

The navy and gold were outhit 7-4 in the opener with Cory DeRush reaching base twice with a single and a walk. The squad put runners in scoring position in the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh frames, but were unable to get anyone all the way around.

The Vikings (18-16, 16-4 MCC) broke a scoreless tie with one run in the third and then added two insurance runs in the fifth.

Starting pitcher Cole Williams took the loss to fall to 2-5, permitting the three GVU runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Jacob Davidson relieved him in the fifth and allowed only one hit in 1 1/3 frames.

The trip to Principal Park warmed up WPU’s bats as the ‘visitors’ held an 11-6 advantage in base knocks. After Grand View scored the game’s first run in the second, the Statesmen finally got on board in the third. Kenny Hall doubled home Connor Sutton to knot the contest at 1-1.

Grand View unfortunately responded with three in the bottom of the third and kept the lead the remainder of the way. J.P. Rios scored WPU’s second and final run in the sixth, while the home team got it right back in the bottom of the sixth.

Patrick Roxbury and Robert Phiakeo both went 2-for-4 at the plate, while Sho Serrano had a hit and a walk.

Matt Vasquez opened the game by allowing one run in two innings. Tyler Martinez took the loss (now 1-2) out of the bullpen by giving up three unearned runs in the third inning. Kyle Maldonado was William Penn’s most effective hurler, going three frames with only one unearned run permitted.

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa this weekend to host AIB in a four-game MCC set. The doubleheaders on both Saturday andSunday start at 1 pm. It also serves as Senior Day Weekend.

–In its most impressive outings since the season-opening weekend, the Statesmen softball team swept #25 Grand View in a Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader Wednesday.

William Penn (15-24, 8-6 MCC) won by scores of 4-3 and 5-0. The wins are WPU’s third and fourth over a ranked foe this spring (first since early March).

It did not appear, at least through the first six innings, that Wednesday was going to be favorable for the navy and gold, though, as they trailed 3-1 entering their final at-bats.

The Vikings (25-10, 15-3 MCC) scored once in the first and twice more in the third, but the Statesmen narrowed the deficit with a run in the fifth. Jorden Steele came around on a single by Chelsee Herron to make it 3-1 going into the seventh.

The Statesmen offense, which had been limited to just three hits up to that juncture, then powered up in a big way. Bri Zerley led off with a solo home run (her fifth of 2015) and Taylor Vernon followed with a double. Steele then put her squad on top for the first time in the opener, clearing the fence with a two-run shot (#4 of the year).

Brittanee Grove only got stronger as the game wore on, closing it out with a perfect bottom of the seventh to improve to 8-6. The senior, who concluded the contest with 10 straight outs, permitted three runs on seven hits. She struck out five with just one walk.

Vernon and Steele each went 2-for-3 at the plate.

The momentum from the come-from-behind ‘W’ carried over into the nightcap. Steele doubled home Ashlee Dennis in the first and Sydney Edwards tagged up and scored on a flyout by Grove in the third.

A three-run fifth frame put WPU comfortably ahead. The inning was highlighted by RBI singles from Grove, Vernon, and Herron. Steele and Grove each had three base knocks as the Statesmen owned an 11-5 edge in that category.

Lunden Young worked out of bases-loaded situations in the second and fifth innings and was otherwise very effective in tossing her third shutout. The senior (6-10) struck out nine with five walks.

Next Up: William Penn travels to La Crosse, Wis. Sunday to face Viterbo in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

The Oskaloosa girls’ soccer team picked up a 5-0 win at Pella Christian to open up LHC play Tuesday night. It took a while to get things rolling offensively as Osky held just a 1-0 halftime lead off a goal from Senior Captain Aleda Renter. But the girls came out ready to play in the second half and sophomore Ashley Brockman, for the second game in a row, scored three goals to put the game away for the Indians.

Sophomore Lexi Randau also added a second half goal. Junior Jackie Reif contributed two assists and freshman Kinsey Cook also added an assist as Oskaloosa improved to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in LHC play. Osky is off now until next Tuesday when they will face some stiff competition playing at Grinnell the #9 ranked team in Class 2A.