April 11, 2009
Game 1 - Wayne State 11 Northern State 0
Game 2 - Wayne State 2 Northern State 0
Wayne State College earned 11-0 and 2-0 wins over Northern State in an NSIC softball double-header played on Saturday afternoon in Wayne. Wayne State has won six straight games and is 25-12 overall with a 10-1 record in the NSIC. Northern State dropped to 3-24 overall and 0-12 in the NSIC with the losses. Sophomore pitcher Katie Goetzinger became Wayne State's all-time strikeouts leader by recording 21 strikeouts in two wins, giving her 349 career strikeouts to top Whitney Wilczynski's previous school mark of 348 strikeouts from 2001-05.
In the 11-0 win in game one, Wayne State erupted for 14 hits, and every starter had at least one hit for the Wildcats. Wayne State took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Amy Sandstrom led off the inning with a double to center field and scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Blaire Kuhl. WSC scored four runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead. Hannah Engelkamp had a two-run double, and Sam Earleywine and Katie Goetzinger each added RBI singles for the 'Cats in their four-run second inning. WSC continued to pour it on with six more runs in the third inning for the final score of 11-0. Kiley Peterson's two-run double and Kuhl's two-run single highlighted the six-run third for Wayne State.
Katie Goetzinger pitched a one-hit shutout to earn her 17th win of the season, and was one strike away from her third no-hitter of the season. Goetzinger walked just one batter and had 10 strikeouts in the win. Blaire Kuhl was 2 for 2 with three runs batted in to lead Wayne State offensively in game one. Kiley Peterson was also 2 for 2 with two runs batted in and a run scored for the 'Cats. Rachel South had the lone hit for Northern State in the first game. Kelli Bornander (1-11) took the loss on the mound for the Wolves, allowing 11 runs on 11 hits with two walks and one strikeout in 2 2/3 innings of work.
Game two was tightly contested with Wayne State pulling out the 2-0 win. The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning. Wayne State's Jennifer Radley led off the inning with a triple and later scored on an RBI groundout by Brittany Greenwood, giving WSC the 1-0 lead. The 'Cats added an insurance run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Amber Baird, making the score 2-0 in favor of Wayne State. Northern State was unable to mount a rally, and Wayne State held on for the 2-0 win.
The 'Cats had seven hits in the second game compared to just three hits for Northern State. Jennifer Radley went 2 for 2 with a run scored, and Katie Goetzinger also went 2 for 2 for WSC. Brittany Greenwood and Amber Baird each drove in runs and Blaire Kuhl extended her hitting streak to 18 games with a sixth-inning single for Wayne State. Goetzinger (18-8) was dominant again on the mound for WSC, tossing a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in the win. Heather Olson went 2 for 3 for Northern State in the loss. Breanna Milnes (2-12) took the loss and allowed two runs on seven hits for the Wolves.
Wayne State is scheduled to host #22 Nebraska-Omaha Tuesday. The double-header is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Pete Chapman Softball Complex in Wayne.
