Huge Rally, Walk Off Lead to Statesmen Sweep of St. Francis (Ill.)

Rosemont, Ill.--The William Penn softball team found two unique ways to get victories Sunday as it swept St. Francis (Ill.) on the final day of the NAIA Leadoff Classic hosted by Roosevelt.

WPU (8-2) defeated the Saints by scores of 6-5 and 5-4 to extend its winning streak to four games.

The navy and gold started slow against USF, permitting three runs in the first inning.  The Saints then tacked on one more run in the second and another in the fourth for a seemingly insurmountable 5-0 edge entering the fifth frame.

The Statesmen had just four hits at that point, but without a base knock, they put two runners on base for Laila Smith (So., Olympia, Wash., Elementary Education).  The sophomore then got her squad right back into the game as she cleared the fence with a three-run home run.

Later in the fifth, courtesy of two walks and a single, WPU loaded the pads and Emily Bryant (Sr., University Place, Wash., Nursing) drove in a pair with a one-bagger of her own.  The Statesmen drew five total walks in the inning with Abby Thompson (Sr., Keokuk, Iowa, Secondary Education), pinch-hitting for Bailee Rinn (Jr., Omaha, Neb., Biology), pushing in Ella Pierce (Sr., McClelland, Iowa, Business Management) with the fifth and final base on balls.

The six-run outburst proved to be enough as Chelsey Huff (Sr., Douds, Iowa, Exercise Science) settled in, shutting down St. Francis (Ill.) with three consecutive scoreless innings to close it out.  The senior went the full seven innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits.  She struck out five batters and walked two.

Offensively, WPU held a 10-7 edge in hits with Laila Smith finishing 3-for-4 (one walk as well), while the duo of Tori Smith (So., Olympia, Wash., Secondary Education) and Ella Pierce both managed two base knocks.

Both sides managed eight hits in the nightcap that featured three lead changes.  After four scoreless innings, the Saints finally broke through with one run in the top half of the fifth.

The navy and gold answered with three runs on the bottom side, beginning with a two-run double by Laila Pelds (Jr., Pleasant Hill, Iowa, Elementary Education).  She scored later in the inning on a Bryant single.

USF countered with a three-run top of the sixth to recapture the lead at 4-3, but William Penn knotted the contest once more in the bottom of the sixth as Marin Frazee (So., Sioux City, Iowa, Exercise Science) tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly by Peyton Naranjo (So., Ripon, Calif., Biology).

Similar to Sunday's first outing, the second bout also came down to walks.  Tori Smith led off the bottom of the seventh with a base on balls, while Ella Pierce (single) and Huff (walk) also reached to pack the pads.  Rinn then earned the third walk of the inning (seventh of the game) to push Tori Smith the final 60 feet for William Penn's first walk-off of 2025.

Tori Smith was perfect at the dish, going 2-for-2 with two walks.  The trio of Laila Smith, Pelds, and Rinn all recorded one hit with one walk as well.

Madie Anderson (Sr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Elementary Education) worked the first six frames, allowing four runs on eight hits.  She also tallied three strikeouts.  Smith was credited with the victory as she posted one perfect inning out of the bullpen.

"These were a couple of big wins," Head Coach Laura North said.  "This team is showing signs of knowing how to win, which we lacked a lot of times last year.  We had a lot of kids show up in a big way this weekend.  Being able to win close games this early in the season is a big step for us.  Our seniors--Madie Anderson, Laila Pelds, Chelsey Huff, Emily Bryant, Ella Pierce, and Madeline Pierce--are really leading with authority."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Sioux Center next Friday to compete in the Dordt Dome Tournament, facing host Dordt at 2 p.m. and College of Saint Mary (Neb.) at 4 p.m.