Game 1 - Wayne State 9 St. Cloud State 4
Game 2 - Wayne State 5 St. Cloud State 0
Jennifer Radley went 4 for 4 with two homers and Katie Goetzinger struck out 18 batters in 9 2/3 innings to lift the Wayne State College softball team in a 9-4 and 5-0 sweep over St. Cloud State Monday afternoon in Northern Sun Conference softball played at the Pete Chapman Softball Complex in Wayne on NFCA StrikeOut Cancer Day. WSC remained perfect at home this season (12-0), improving to 25-12 overall and 13-3 in league play, while St. Cloud State slipped to 19-20 on the season and 4-10 in the NSIC.
In the first game, Goetzinger struck out 15 St. Cloud State batters while Wayne State belted four homers as the Wildcats recorded a 9-4 win over the Huskies. The Wildcats opened the scoring in the first inning on a Blaire Kuhl RBI single scoring Dani Sandel for a 1-0 Wildcat lead. WSC plated three runs in the fourth for a 4-0 lead as Radley blasted a solo homer over the right centerfield fence for the first run while the other two runs came across on a pair of St. Cloud State fielding errors giving the 'Cats a 4-0 advantage.
St. Cloud State got on the board with a solo homer from Chris Saiz in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 4-1. WSC came right back in the bottom of the fifth on another solo blast from Radley for a 5-1 lead. Natalie Hauschild came on in relief of Goetzinger in the sixth inning, but allowed a walk, single and homer to St. Cloud State as the Huskies got within one run at 5-4. That brought Goetzinger back into the game and she struck out two batters in a row to get out of the inning. WSC then scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a solo homer by Dani Sandel and a three-run shot from Kuhl to give the Wildcats a 9-4 lead. Goetzinger then shut the door on the Huskies in the seventh inning as WSC went on to the 9-4 win.
WSC had 11 hits in the game to five by St. Cloud State. Radley finished 2 for 2 with a pair of homers while Kuhl was 2 for 4 with a three run homer. Sandel also went 2 for 4 at the plate with a homer and Goetzinger doubled for Wayne State's other extra base hit. Goetzinger (17-6) was the winning pitcher, working 6 2/3 innings notching 15 strikeouts in the game. She allowed just three hits and one run.
The second game saw Goetzinger and freshman Jordan Harris combine on a four-hit shutout as the Wildcats posted a 5-0 win in a game called in the bottom of the sixth inning due to wet field conditions. WSC opened the scoring in the bottom of the second as Kassie Nurton singled and scored on Aeriell Earleywine's two-run homer for a 2-0 Wildcat lead.
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when WSC pushed across three runs for the 5-0 lead. The 'Cats used two hits and three walks along with several wild pitches to score three runs before the game was called with two outs in the bottom of the sixth due to wet field conditions. Natalie Ruechel's double and a two-run single by Sandel were the hits for WSC in the sixth inning.
WSC had six hits to four by St. Cloud State in the second game. Radley finished 2 for 2 with a pair of singles while Aeriell Earleywine homered and Ruechel doubled for the Wildcats. Goetzinger (18-6) pitched the final three innings to earn the win, striking out four while allowing two hits. Harris worked the initial three innings and was charged with two hits while striking out three for WSC.
Wayne State will be on the road Wednesday afternoon visiting Upper Iowa in a Northern Sun Conference doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.
