Wayne State softball opened Northern Sun Conference play Friday afternoon with a split against Minnesota Duluth as the Wildcats controlled the opener with an 11-3 win in five innings while the Bulldogs returned the favor with a convincing 13-5 victory in six innings in the second game.  WSC is now 21-5 and 1-1 in the NSIC while UMD sits 16-9 and 1-1 in the league.
            The opener saw the Wildcats pound out 15 hits and score 10 runs in the final three innings to post an 11-3 victory in five innings.
            Sophomore first baseman Reagan Dreibelbis blasted a solo homer to right center field to open the second inning for a 1-0 Wildcat lead.
            WSC added two runs in the third for a 3-0 advantage as Maddie Scobee and Taylor Coleman each produced RBI singles.
            The 'Cats scored four runs in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead as Scobee had the big hit in the inning with a bases-loaded clearing double to go with an RBI single from Chance.
            Four more runs in the fifth gave WSC an 11-0 cushion.  Chance delivered a three-run homer down the left field line while Scobee later had an RBI single to center field.
            Minnesota Duluth avoided the shutout with three runs in the bottom of the fifth as WSC closed with the 11-3 win.
            WSC was led at the plate by Scobee going 4 for 4 with five RBI.  It was the first four-hit game by a Wildcat player this season.  Emilee Marth ended 3 for 3 with a double and two runs scored while Chance finished 2 for 4 with a homer and four RBI.  Jordyn Klein had a 2 for 3 game with two runs scored.
            Sophomore Kennadi Borngrebe fired a complete game to earn the win, now 7-3.  She allowed three runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts and eight walks.
            The second game saw WSC rally from a 5-0 deficit with five runs in the sixth to tie the score at 5-5.  But the Bulldogs retaliated with an eight-run bottom of the sixth to close with a 13-5 win.
            The game was scoreless until the fourth when UMD scored four runs and then another in the fifth for a 5-0 lead.
            The 'Cats came back with five runs in the top of the sixth to knot the score at 5-5 thanks to six hits.  Haylee Weber's pinch-hit two-run double tied the score at 5-5.  Other key hits in the inning were Chance with an RBI double and Lillie Timm recording an RBI single.
            But Minnesota Duluth erupted for eight runs on eight hits in the bottom of the inning to gain the split with a 13-5 victory.
            Eight different players had hits for the Wildcats.  Weber had a two-run double while Chance posted an RBI double for WSC extra base hits.
            Jadeyn Stahr (7-1) suffered the pitching loss working a complete game.
            The Wildcats are home again Saturday when Bemidji State visits the Pete Chapman Softball Complex for an NSIC doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.