[Softball] Lady Statesmen sweep league opener

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- After holding on for a 1-0 victory in the opener, William Penn forced extra innings and then scored three times in the ninth to beat Mount Mercy, 7-4, in game two of Wednesday's Midwest Collegiate Conference softball opener at Tomahawk Park.

Brianne Rowley's first-inning home run was all the Lady Statesmen needed in game one. The two teams combined for just five hits off starters Jennifer Whitehead and Mariah Early. Senior left fielder Jessica Magnuson and sophomore second baseman Kerry Herlihy picked up Mount Mercy's two hits. Early (2-1) got the loss despite allowing just one earned run on two hits while striking out three.

Senior first baseman Liz Hill brought the Mustangs back from a 3-2 deficit in game two, drilling a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning to give Mount Mercy a 4-3 lead. That held up until the top of the seventh when William Penn got an unearned run to send the game into extra innings. After a scoreless eighth, the Lady Statesmen plated three runs in the ninth to get the sweep.

Hill finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in and senior catcher Briana DeFlavio went 3-for-5 with two runs scored for the Mustangs (4-3, 0-2 MCC). Herlihy also had two hits in three at-bats and drove in a run. Senior right-hander Paige Lager (1-2) went 8 1/3 innings, giving up five earned runs on 11 hits while striking out nine.

Mount Mercy heads to Clermont, Fla., for the NTC Spring Games from March 24-29. The Mustangs will play nine games there before coming back to Oskaloosa for the MCC pod weekend March 31-April 1.