ROSEMONT, Ill. --- Plagued by inconsistency in finding the strike zone, the University of St. Francis softball team dropped a pair of one-run decisions to William Penn University (Iowa) on Sunday morning in the final day of the NAIA Leadoff Tournament hosted by Roosevelt University.

The Saints (2-2) gained an initial 5-0 lead in the front end of their doubleheader, but a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning quickly dampened the momentum, eventually leading to a 6-5 loss.  USF looked to rebound in the nightcap, coming back to take a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning, but the Saints could not hang on in suffering a 5-4 setback.

Both teams finished with similar offensive numbers by day's end, including comparable hit totals (WPU 18 , USF 15) and the same number of runners left on base (13).  William Penn's offense, however, benefited greatly from USF's 12 total walks allowed, which resulted in eight runs for the Statesmen (8-2) between the two contests.

Hailey Kaddatz shined at the plate for the Saints, accounting for four hits in five trips to the plate with two runs and a RBI between the two games.  Isabella Landeros and Emily Hurst each authored their first triple of the 2025 season, while Emily Boyle connected for her second career home run.

Game 1: William Penn 6, USF 5
St. Francis went right to work in scoring three of its five runs in the first inning, followed by additional runs in the second and fourth frames to open up a 5-0 lead.

Landeros was part of the run production in each of the first two innings.  After Chylece Cluck singled to reach base in the first inning, back-to-back RBI triples from Landeros and Hurst, followed by a RBI double from Kiersten Manning, brought home the first three runs of the contest.  A fielder's choice in the second frame off the bat of Landeros resulted in Kaddatz scoring the fourth run.

Kaddatz would also cross the plate in the fourth inning after Cluck stole second base to round out USF's scoring.

The big blow for the Saints came in the top of the fifth inning when the Statesmen plated six runs in total.  After two free passes were issued to start the frame, a towering three-run home run quickly turned the momentum towards William Penn.  Four more walks from the USF pitching staff would be gifted in the inning, eventually resulting in two more runs crossing the plate for the Statesmen.

William Penn would hold the one-run lead for the remainder of the contest, retiring nine of the Saints' last ten batters.

Game 2: William Penn 5, USF 4
It was a pitcher's duel in the first four innings of play in Game 2 with neither team managing more than two hits.  Both USF's Boyle and William Penn's Madie Anderson struck out two batters, while each coaxed ground ball outs to get out of their respective jams.

After Boyle got the scoring started with her inside-the-park home run to begin the fifth inning, the Statesmen responded by putting up three runs, assisted by two walks, in the bottom half of the inning.

St. Francis would match that three-run total in the sixth inning to regain the lead at 4-3.  Back-to-back ground-rule doubles from Landeros and Hurst resulted in the Saints' second run of the game before Kylie Cook came through with a big double to plate pinch runner Lindsey Kaufmann with the tying run.  Kaddatz would follow with a RBI single of her own in the next at bat to score Cook and give St. Francis the lead.

A sacrifice fly after a lead-off triple in the bottom of the sixth inning for the Statesmen would knot the score back up at 4-4 before things unfolded in the seventh inning.  A one hit, three-walk inning would allow the winning run to walk across the plate with the bases loaded for William Penn resulting in the 5-4 loss for USF.

Up Next
The Saints are off for two weeks before they head to Arizona for 12 contests over seven days starting with single games against Concordia University (Mich.) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) on March 2.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.