Game 1 - Wayne State 9 #12 Winona State 2
Game 2 - #12 Winona State 3 Wayne State 1
Wayne State and #12 Winona State battled in a Northern Sun Conference softball showdown Wednesday afternoon in Winona, Minnesota featuring the second and third place teams in the conference. The Wildcats captured the opener 9-2 with the host Warriors taking the second game 3-1, keeping Wayne State in second place in the league at 18-4 and 30-13 overall with Winona State remaining in third place in the conference at 16-4 and 32-7 overall.
In the first game, senior catcher Sam Earleywine went 2 for 4 with a home run and double to lead a balanced hitting attack while senior pitcher Katie Goetzinger fired a complete game in a 9-2 win over the Warriors. WSC opened the scoring in the first inning when Dani Sandel singled and scored on a Jennifer Radley two-run homer for an early 2-0 Wildcat lead. After Winona State scored in the second to make it 2-1, the 'Cats built a 4-1 lead in the third when Sam Earleywine doubled and scored on a Blaire Kuhl double with Kuhl scoring on a Rachel Dukich single.
WSC increased the lead to 6-1 in the fourth when Aeriell Earleywine singled and later scored on older sister Sam Earleywine's two-out homer to centerfield. Winona State scored once in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 6-2, but WSC got the run back in the sixth inning on a Dani Sandel RBI single scoring Kassie Nurton giving WSC a 7-2 lead. The 'Cats added two insurance runs in the seventh aided by three pinch hit singles from Vicki Nielsen, Natalie Ruechel and Slone Masters giving WSC the 9-2 win.
Wayne State had 13 hits in the win coming off the bats of 10 different Wildcat players. Sam Earleywine finished 2 for 4 with her home run and double. Aeriell Earleywine and Sandel each finished 2 for 4 while Kuhl added a double to lead the 'Cats at the plate. Katie Goetzinger (23-6) earned the complete game win, allowing two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts for her 17th complete game of the year.
The second game saw Winona State Stacey Struzynski hold the Wildcats to just four hits as the Warriors snapped Wayne State's nine-game win streak with a 3-1 win. The Warriors scored one run in the second and two in the third inning to chase Wildcat starter Jordan Harris. Wayne State got on the board in the fifth inning when Blaire Kuhl singled and later scored on an RBI single from pinch hitter Vicki Nielsen.
The Wildcats threatened to tie the game in the seventh inning getting two runners in scoring position as Radley singled and pinch hitter Natalie Ruechel walked. Pinch runners Heather Cook and Brittany Greenwood then advanced to second and third on a wild pitch with two outs, but Sarah Gottschalk struck out to end the game as Winona State held on for the 3-1 win.
Winona State had nine hits to four by WSC in the second game. Wayne State's four hits were singles by Kuhl, Nielsen, Radley and Sandel. Freshman starter Jordan Harris suffered the loss, falling to 4-2 on the season. She worked the first 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk and one strikeout. Natalie Hauschild finished the third inning, recording two outs on one hit. Goetzinger worked the final three innings and gave up just two hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Wayne State will be on the road again Thursday afternoon playing at Upper Iowa in a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader followed by a Saturday home doubleheader against NSIC leader and #10 Augustana at 1:00 p.m.
