Wayne State 4 Missouri Western 3

            Wayne State College used a three-run sixth inning and five innings of two-hit relief from freshman Sloan Cooksey to rally for a 4-3 win over Missouri Western Sunday afternoon at the 5-State Softball Classic in Topeka, Kansas.  The Wildcats improve to 5-3 on the year while the Griffons drop to 3-7.
            Missouri Western opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first with WSC matching the run in the top of the second as Ashley Hernandez doubled and scored on a single from Paiton Tornberg.
            The Griffons produced two more runs in the bottom of the second inning for a 3-1 lead and the score stayed the same until Wayne State's sixth inning rally.
            Clare Reinhart singled with one out and scored on a two-run homer from Herandez to even the score at 3-3.  Tornberg walked and later scored on a Molli Vasa single to left field for the go-ahead run.
            Missouri Western threatened to win the game in the bottom of the seventh, recording two hits and having runners on second and third with just one out.  But Cooksey got a foul out and fly out to left field to end the game as WSC held on for the 4-3 win.
            Wayne State held a 7-6 edge in hits over Missouri Western.  Hernandez went 2 for 3 with a homer, double and two RBI.  Five other Wildcats had a single – Reinhart, Kamryn Sparks, Vasa, Tornberg and Emily Hale.
            Cooksey (1-2) earned the pitching win for Wayne State with five innings of scoreless relief, allowing just two hits with one walk.  Starter Hadley Chvatal pitched the first two innings and was charged with three runs on four hits with one walk.
            Wayne State will face Washburn at 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the 5-State Softball Classic in Topeka.