College softball: One memorable day at Penn Field

OSKALOOSA — Laura North may not miss Penn Field. The head coach of the William Penn softball team will always remember the final games played on the diamond that the Statesmen called home for over four decades. In the final two home games of the season, William Penn left their fans with the memories of two incredible final games rallying five times in the final innings of a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader with Mount Mercy.

In the second and final game of the twinbill, the Statesmen faced a deficit in the final inning four times extending the game by scoring tying runs in the seventh, ninth and 10th before finally pushing across the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th to secure a wild 13-12 victory over the Mustangs after a two-run walk-off home run in the seventh inning by Laila Smith gave William Penn a 4-3 win in game one. "This is what our team has done all season. We kind of tease them by calling them the cardiac kids," North said.

"They just seem to play better when we're coming from behind because they're so stubborn. It's a challenge, but they never give up. " The comeback wins were part of an all-around memorable day for William Penn softball that included honoring three seniors (Bailee Rinn, Elsye Rios and Kya Butler) as well as the field located just on the south side of the campus that has been the hosting the Statesmen since the 1980s.

Next season, William Penn will play on a new state-of-the-art softball field complete with field turf at the Lacey Sports Complex next to the Statesmen baseball diamond that opened just two seasons earlier. "It's a lot of work to keep this field up. It looks decent, but a lot goes into it," North said of Penn Field.