Game 1 - Wayne State 3 Bemidji State 0
Game 2 - Wayne State 8 Bemidji State 0
The Wayne State College softball team rebounded from a pair of losses to Minnesota Duluth by blanking Bemidji State 3-0 and 8-0 Monday afternoon in makeup Northern Sun Conference games played in Bemidji, Minnesota. The Wildcats improve to 20-11 overall and 8-2 in the NSIC while the host Beavers falls to 1-15 and 0-8 in league play. It was also a milestone day for WSC senior pitcher Katie Goetzinger, who recorded her 100th career win in the second game while also notching her 1,000th career strikeout in the first contest today.
The first game saw Wildcat senior All-American pitcher Katie Goetzinger fire a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts to power Wayne State in a 3-0 win over the Beavers. WSC opened the scoring with two runs in the first when Aeriell Earleywine walked and later scored on Sam Earleywine's single to left field for a 1-0 lead. WSC took a 2-0 lead when Rachel Dukich reached on a Bemidji State error scoring Sam Earleywine. The Wildcats scored again in the second when Katie Goetzinger singled and crossed the plate on Aeriell Earleywine's double to close out the scoring at 3-0.
WSC outhit Bemidji State 8-2. Jennifer Radley was 3 for 4 to lead the Wildcats at the plate followed by Aeriell Earleywine going 2 for 3 with a double and RBI. Sam Earleywine and Rachel Dukich each contributed RBI singles in the win to support winning pitcher Katie Goetzinger, who improved to 13-5 on the season by throwing a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts.
The second game saw the Wildcats erupt for eight runs in the fifth inning to record an 8-0 win over Bemidji State to complete the sweep. WSC had just one hit through four innings, but the Wildcat bats woke up in the fifth inning with seven hits scoring eight runs for the win. Sam Earleywine's bases-loaded clearing double and a Jennifer Radley two-run homer were key hits in the inning. Kassie Nurton added an RBI double while Vicki Nielsen produced a run-scoring single in the big fifth inning.
The Wildcats had eight hits by eight different players in the game compared to just two for the Beavers. Radley homered and while Sam Earleywine, Nurton and Blaire Kuhl each doubled for WSC. Goetzinger picked up the win in relief of starter Jordan Harris. Harris pitched the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing two hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Goetzinger, now 14-5, struck out four batters in the final 1 2/3 innings to record the win. It also marked the 100th career win for Goetzinger, now 100-44 in her fourth season at WSC. In the first game, she recorded her 1,000th career strikeout and now has 1,011 in a Wildcat uniform.
Wayne State's scheduled doubleheader at Southwest Minnesota State on Wednesday has been moved up one day to tomorrow (Tuesday) due to predicted bad weather in Marshall, Minnesota and will now start at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday.
