Fort Hays State jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and went to defeat Wayne State College 10-0 in five innings Saturday morning in the Wildcats' opening game at the 2024 Washburn Softball Invitational in Topeka, Kansas.  The Wildcats are now 1-8 while FHSU improves to 9-2 on the season.
            The Tigers produced seven hits and six runs in the opening frame for an early 6-0 lead.
            Fort Hays State added two more in the second and had two runs in the fourth for the 10-0 win.
            Wayne State was held hitless until the fourth inning when Jordyn Klein had a leadoff double and was left stranded at third base.
            The 'Cats had another scoring opportunity in the fifth inning loading the bases with two outs but could not score.  Mary Krystofiak walked followed by singles from Abby Husing and Jordyn Rochholz to load the bases.
            Wayne State had three hits in the game – a double by Klein to go with singles from Husing and Rochholz.
            Starting pitcher Sophie Stuart suffered the pitching loss in 1 2/3 innings of work.  Junior Grace Lucka worked the final 2 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts.
            Wayne State was slated to play Central Missouri Saturday afternoon at the Washburn Invitational.