Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Wayne State 5 Central Missouri 4

Emporia State 8 Wayne State 7

            Wayne State College split a pair of one-run contests Saturday at the Apple Market Classic Softball Tournament in St. Joseph, Missouri as the Wildcats edged Central Missouri 5-4 in the opener followed by an 8-7 defeat to Emporia State.  The Wildcats are now 5-13 following the two contests.
            The opener saw WSC use back-to-back-to-back homers in the second inning while holding off a late Central Missouri rally to edge the Jennies 5-4.
            The Wildcats opened the scoring in the second inning when Abbie Hix, Katelyn Wobken and Morgan Hoeg hit consecutive home runs to give WSC a 3-0 advantage.
            After Central Missouri scored twice in the third to get within one of the Wildcats at 3-2, WSC pushed the lead back to three at 5-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth as Hoeg delivered an RBI single that scored Hix (walk) while Hoeg scored on Emily Chandler's single.
            Central Missouri scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one-run game again at 5-4 and had runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh before WSC starter Cassy Miller retired the Jennies to get the victory.
            WSC had nine hits in the game to seven for Central Missouri.  Hoeg finished 2 for 3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored while Hix was 2 for 3 with a homer, double, RBI and two runs scored.  Chandler and Lexie Loos each added two singles while Katleyn Wobken homered to round out Wayne State's nine hit attack.
            Senior Cassy Miller (4-8) was the winning pitcher, firing her fourth complete game of the season.  She allowed seven hits and four runs with two strikeouts and five walks.
            The Wildcats could not overcome a five-run first inning by Emporia State as WSC rallied late before suffering an 8-7 defeat to the Hornets.
            Emporia State struck for five runs in the top of the first, but WSC responded with three runs of their own to make the score 5-3 after one inning.  Loos walked and scored on a Chandler single for the first run.  Chandler crossed home plate on a bases loaded walk to Hix while an Alyssa Schropp groundout scored Melania Alyea (single) with the third run of the inning.
            The Hornets added single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings for an 8-3 lead. WSC pushed across three runs in the bottom of the sixth to close the gap to 8-6.  Hoeg produced a two-run double that scored Hix (walk) and Caitlin Fehringer (single) while Hoeg scored when Loos reached base on a throwing error.
            In the bottom of the seventh, Chandler tripled to lead off the inning followed by an RBI single to right field from Melanie Alyea that made the score 8-7.  Alyea was sacrificed to second for the first out of the inning, but Hix and Alyssa Schropp each grounded out to end the game as the Wildcats fell one run short.
            Both teams had 10 hits in the contest.  Chandler was 3 for 4 with a triple and two runs scored while Melanie Alyea was 3 for 4 with a double, RBI and run scored.  Hoeg ended 2 for 3 with a double and triple while Shelby Wobken and Fehringer also had hits for the Wildcats.
            All four Wildcat pitchers saw action in the contest with Shelby Wobken (0-2) suffering the loss.  Riley VanderVeen worked two innings of relief and was charged with two runs followed by Miller who pitched the next four innings and yielded two runs on three hits.  Senior Sarah Macias worked the final inning and gave up just one hit.
            Wayne State will conclude play on Sunday at the Apple Market Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri, battling host Missouri Western at 1 p.m. and Washburn in a 5 p.m. contest.