By: Wichita State
OMAHA, Neb. - The Wichita State softball team (16-20, 4-3) lost its third-straight game as the Shockers dropped a doubleheader to Creighton (21-6, 5-0) on a rain-delayed Saturday afternoon at the CU Sports Complex in Omaha.
WSU lost game one in heartbreaking fashion, as a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth gave Creighton the 3-1 win. The Shockers fell behind early in game two and could never catch up, dropping the 5-2 decision to the Bluejays.
The teams wrap up the three-game set with a single game at noon on Sunday.
Creighton 5, Shockers 2 (Game Two)
CU got on the board first in game two, when a two-run single by designated player Laura Kratochvil scored Jamie Reiss and Michelle Garner, giving Creighton a 2-0 lead.
The Shockers answered in the second with a solo home run by pitcher Ashly Bright that brought WSU to within one, 2-1.
Creighton answered with a run in the bottom of the second when Reiss doubled to bring home Jessica Wakasugi, who reached earlier in the inning on an error. Wakasugi's unearned run gave CU a 3-1 lead after two innings.
Bright (4-8), the starter for the Shockers, could never get into a groove, giving up three runs on three hits, while walking three and striking out three. She surrendered to Barnett in the third, who finished the game for WSU by going the final 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits while walking none and striking out two.
A solo home run by Lisa Jones in the top of the fifth cut the CU lead to 3-2, but the Bluejays responded with runs in each of the fifth and the sixth to secure the 5-2 win.
Creighton 3, Shockers 1 (Game One)
Creighton leadoff hitter Jamie Reiss got things started quickly for the Bluejays in the bottom of the first, lifting a fly ball to left field that sailed over the head of Katie McGeeney, landing for a standup triple. Starter Margo Pruis (9-8) then hit Michelle Garner to put runners on the corners with one out, but catcher Kara L'Huillier came through for the Shockers, picking off Garner at first for the second out. Pruis struck out T.J. Eadus to end the threat and get out of the inning with no damage done.
Pruis took the complete-game loss, giving up three earned on five hits. The senior walked two, hit two and struck out eight on the day.
WSU got its first hit of the game in the third when Lisa Jones reached on an infield single after Reiss slipped to the ground while making the play. The Shockers couldn't capitalize though, as Katie McGeeney struck out and Brooke Usher grounded out down the first base line to end the inning.
The Shockers got on the board first in the fourth, when Cynthia Verhulst took a 1-0 pitch from Creighton starter Tara Oltman (12-2) over the left-centerfield fence to give the Shockers a 1-0 lead. With the homer, Verhulst snapped a 40-plus inning streak without an earned run by Oltman.
Pruis got out of a jam in the fourth after she allowed a one-out walk to Eadus, before she turned baserunning duties over to Kate Petullo. The Creighton pinch-runner tested the Shocker defense as Petullo tried to score on a double off the wall by Jessica German, but McGeeney's throw to Barnett set up the relay perfectly and Barnett threw Petullo out at home to keep the Bluejays scoreless after four.
WSU left the bases loaded in the fifth and it cost the Shockers, as Creighton got on the board with a three-run homer down the left line by Bailey Dawson that gave CU a 3-1 lead. The damage came with two outs on the board, as a walk to Reiss brought CU's leading run producer to the plate and she connected, taking the Pruis delivery deep over the left foul pole to put the Bluejays ahead after five.
The Shockers went down in order in the sixth and a Lindsie Mitts infield single in the seventh gave WSU its only baserunner in the final two innings, giving the Bluejays their 20th win of the season.
