Madonna continued its weekend in dominant fashion on Friday afternoon, defeating William Penn (IA), 7-2, in Rosemont, Illinois. Madonna picked up their third win at the NAIA Leadoff remaining undefeated.

The Crusaders wasted no time setting the tone. After reaching on an error in the bottom of the first, Madonna capitalized in a big way. Faith Cramton delivered a two-RBI single through the right side to bring home the first runs of the game, and Ella Thomas followed with an RBI groundout to give the Crusaders an early 3-0 advantage.

Madonna continued to apply pressure in the third inning. Ashley Rosiewicz sparked the offense with a single and promptly stole second. An ensuing William Penn error allowed her to score, extending the lead to 4-0. The Crusaders added another run in the fifth after Rosiewicz once again ignited the rally with a single and a stolen base. Regan Finkbeiner followed with a base hit, and Brynn Anteau drove in a run on a groundout to push the lead to 5-0.

In the circle, Laci Harris was sharp in her start, tossing four scoreless innings while allowing just four hits and striking out one. She worked efficiently, stranding multiple William Penn runners and keeping the momentum in Madonna's favor. Anna Battagin and Camille Oyer combined in relief to close out the final three innings, limiting the damage and securing the win.

William Penn threatened in the sixth, plating two runs to cut the deficit to 5-2. The Crusaders quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning. Taking advantage of defensive miscues, Madonna tacked on two more runs as Oilvia Salinas drove in a run and Rosiewicz came around to score, extending the lead to 7-2.

Cramton led the way offensively with two hits and two RBIs, while Rosiewicz added two hits, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Salinas chipped in with a double and an RBI as Madonna tallied seven hits on the afternoon.
The Crusaders' aggressive baserunning and ability to capitalize on defensive errors proved to be the difference, as Madonna secured a strong 7-2 victory to continue its momentum early in the season.

Madonna will continue their weekend by taking on Indiana University Southeast at 5:00 PM CST/6:00 PM EST looking to continue their impressive start to the season.