Statesmen Split with Culver-Stockton in First Conference Match Up of the Year

Oskaloosa-- The William Penn softball team made its first appearance at Penn Field during the 2026 campaign on Friday, hosting Culver-Stockton Wildcats softball in a doubleheader. The Statesmen split the matchup, earning a victory in one game while dropping the other.

Culver-Stockton 6, WPU 3

The Wildcats opened the top of the first inning by getting on the board first, taking an early 1-0 lead.

WPU quickly responded in the bottom of the first with an answer of its own. Laila Smith (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Elementary Education) doubled into right-center, driving in Marin Frazee (Jr., Sioux City, Iowa, Exercise Science) and Laila Gutierrez (Jr., Seminole, Texas, Business Management) to give the Statesmen a 2-1 lead.

Culver-Stockton plated two runs in the top of the third inning to regain the lead, making the score 3-2.

Laila Smith again came through for the Statesmen, driving in Marin Frazee for the second time on the day. Smith's RBI single in the bottom of the third inning tied the game.

In the top of the seventh, Culver-Stockton added three more runs to take a late 6-3 lead. The Wildcats then held on in the bottom of the inning to secure the victory in game one.

Offensively, Laila Smith recorded three RBIs and a double, while Laila Gutierrez added a double of her own. Marin Frazee went 2-for-4 at the plate and added two stolen bases.

WPU 9, Culver-Stockton 8

The Wildcats again started the top of the first with runs, posting two to take an early advantage.

WPU jumped out in front in the bottom of the first. Laila Gutierrez started the rally by stealing home, pulling the Statesmen within one run. Laila Smith added a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Marin Frazee to tag up and score to tie the game at 2-2. Tori Smith (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Secondary Education) then gave WPU a 3-2 lead with a solo home run. 

C-SC would tie the game at three apiece in the top of the third. 

Again, WPU had an answer as Marin Frazee delivered an RBI double that drove in Laila Gutierrez to make the score 4-3.

In the later stages of the game, Culver-Stockton took control by tallying four runs in the top of the sixth to move ahead 7-4.

William Penn once again battled back into the game. Tori Smith started the rally with a single up the middle that brought around Maci Rutledge (So., Chadron, Neb., Nursing) to score. Breleigh Mengel (Fr., Jefferson, Wis., Nursing) followed with a single of her own, driving in Leah Conlon (Fr., Sioux City, Iowa, Exercise Science).

Down 7-6, Eva Viox (So., Columbia, Mo., Exercise Science) then flew out in foul territory, but Kali Washburn (Fr., Center Point, Iowa, Human Resources) was able to tag up and score, tying the game at 7-7 heading into the seventh inning.

Culver-Stockton took the lead again in the top of the seventh, going ahead 8-7.

The Statesmen were not done yet. In the bottom half of the seventh, Laila Smith tied the game with a double to left-center that scored Marin Frazee. Rylee Reisberg (Jr., Ankeny, Iowa, Exercise Science) then came through for the Statesmen, hitting a walk-off sacrifice fly to left field as Kya Butler (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Sports Management) crossed the plate with the game-winning run to seal a 9-8 WPU victory.

At the plate, Laila Smith recorded two doubles, while Marin Frazee added one of her own. Five different Statesmen recorded RBIs in game two.

"Any day in the Heart, I'll take the split," Head Coach Laura North said. "But I felt like we let game one get away from us. We had enough to win it, but didn't make a good decision in the 7th to finish and get the comeback. We have to play clean and have a good approach to win games. 

"I'm proud of the bounce back and the fight in game two," North added. "We still need to play cleaner to make things easier on ourselves, but we are a young team and we are learning everyday. "

Up Next: William Penn will take on Peru State in a conference doubleheader Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Penn Field in Oskaloosa, Iowa.