By: Wichita State
WICHITA, Kan.—The Wichita State softball team swept Illinois State on Saturday inside Wilkins Stadium during a Saturday Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader. Wichita State defeated Illinois State by scores of 12-4 (six innings) during game one, and 7-5 during game two. With the two victories, Wichita State is now 24-19 while 6-8 in Valley play. Illinois State dropped to 18-23 overall, and 9-5 in Valley play.
By the Shockers winning both games in their doubleheader against the Redbirds, they're now on a five-game winning streak, as they've also won eight of their last nine games. Wichita State is one win away from tying the longest winning streak of the season when they won six in a row from February 28 until March 14.
Due to Wichita State having 11 hits during game one and 13 hits during game two, it marked the third time in four games and the fourth time in the last five games that the Shockers had 10 or more hits.
Game one saw the Shockers score seven runs on six hits, along with two Redbird errors in the bottom of the third to go up 9-0 after three innings. Wichita State scored two in the fifth and one in the sixth to activate the run-rule, winning 12-4 in six innings.
During game two, Wichita State staged a four-run comeback that included the Shockers scoring five runs combined during the bottom of the third and fourth innings to take a 5-4 lead. Two innings after the Redbirds tied the game at five apiece, Macklin Hitz hit her second game-winning homer of the season during the bottom of the sixth (a two-run homer) that would later win the game for Wichita State, as they won 7-5.
Brittany Fortner hit .750 (6-8) on Saturday. She scored three runs, had two doubles, a home run, four RBI, and 11 total bases. Fortner's slugging percentage was 1.375, as she had a stolen base and a .750 on-base percentage. Hitz also hit .750 (3-4) as she scored a run, had her game-winning homer in game two, had three RBI, an .800 slugging percentage and a 1.500 slugging percentage.
Katie Malone won both games, as she pitched a complete game in game one and won game two in relief. She pitched eight innings, allowed four runs (all earned) on seven hits, walked one and struck out seven on Saturday.
Wichita State finishes their three-game series with Illinois State on Sunday inside Wilkins Stadium at noon.
Game 1: Wichita State 12, Illinois State 4 (6)
Katie Malone picked up her 13th win of the season by pitching all six innings. Malone allowed four runs (all earned) on six hits, walked none and struck out five.
Regan Romshek took her 13th loss of the season. She allowed nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits, walked four and struck out none.
Brittany Fortner was 3-4 with a double, her seventh homer and two RBI. Melanie Jaegers also had a multi-hit day, as she went 2-4 with a RBI. Cacy Williams was 1-3 with her team-leading eighth homer of the year along with two RBI. Kelli Spring also had two RBI to go along with her 1-4 day during game one.
Wichita State accumulated their 12 runs off of 11 hits, marking the sixth time the Shockers scored 10 runs or more in a game, and was the 13th time that the Shockers had 10 hits in a game. This was also the third time in the last four games in which the Shockers had 10 or more hits.
Kara Repp led the Redbird offense in game one by going 1-3 with a homer and a RBI. Stephanie Gallant was 2-2 as well.
Two of the first three Shocker batters in the bottom of the first homered to give the Shockers a 2-0 lead after the end of the first.
Williams hit a lead-off homer to deep right center on the first pitch of the inning (her team-leading eighth of the season) to give Wichita State a quick 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Fortner homered to deep center (her seventh of the season) to increase Wichita State's lead to 2-0 after one inning.
Wichita State scored seven runs on six hits, with two Redbird errors, to take a 9-0 lead after three innings.
Two softly-hit singles and a hit batsman allowed Illinois State to load the bases with one out in the top of the fourth, and Kaitlyn Knary at the plate. Knary hit a sac fly to Ashley Johnson, scoring Jordan de los Reyes to cut the Shocker lead to 9-1 with two outs in the top of the fourth.
After Malone hit Abby Turczyn with a pitch, that loaded the bases for the second time in the inning, but this time for Repp. Repp hit a two-RBI single just over Mackenzie Wright, and advanced to second on the throw. Both Riley Strandgard and Gallant scored to cut the Shocker lead to 9-3 after the top of the fourth.
Annie Heineman hit a solo homer to deep center to trim Wichita State's lead to 9-4 in the top-half of the fifth.
A hit by pitch, fielding error by Abby Turczyn at second, and a stolen base set up runners on second (Johnson) and third (Layne Greenlee) with no outs. Johnson and Greenlee were both caught in wild rundowns, but Greenlee eventually scored after her rundown although Johnson was thrown out at third at the conclusion of her rundown. Wichita State took a 10-4 lead after Greenlee's rundown produced a run, and Fortner singled through the right side to move the Shocker lead to 11-4 after five innings.
Erin Carney reached on a fielding error by de los Reyes, scoring McKenzie Adams to end the game due to the eight-run run-rule. Wichita State won 12-4 against Illinois State, improving their overall record to 23-19 while improving to 5-8 in Valley play.
Game 2: Wichita State 7, Illinois State 5
Katie Malone picked up the victory in relief. She improved to 14-8 on the season as she pitched the final two innings in relief. Malone allowed just one hit and one walk in her two innings, as she struck out two.
Sarah Finck took just her second loss of the season. Finck pitched 5.1 innings and allowed seven runs (all earned) on 13 hits, walked three and struck out three.
Macklin Hitz was 2-3 with a run scored, had the game-winning homer for the second time this season (during the bottom of the sixth), and her two RBI from the home run was what would later win the game for Wichita State. Brittany Fortner (3-4), Cacy Williams (2-4), Kelli Spring (2-3), and Ashley Johnson (2-3) each had multi-hit games as Liz Broyles and Mackenzie Wright each had a hit. Not only did Hitz record two RBI, but Fortner and Broyles also had two RBI apiece.
Jordan de los Reyes led the Redbird offense in game two, as she went 3-4 with two runs scored, three RBI and a homer.
Illinois State took a 1-0 lead in game two during the top of the first when Riley Strandgard singled up the middle, scoring de los Reyes.
De los Reyes hit a three-run homer in the top of the second to extend the Redbird lead to 4-0.
The Wichita State softball team used a fit-hit rally, all with two outs, to trim Illinois State's lead in half after three innings.
Wichita State had runners on second and third with two outs, and Broyles at the plate. Broyles hit a bloop-single to shallow right-center field, scoring both Fortner and Spring to cut the Redbird lead to 4-2 after the end of three innings.
Kelsey Sterneker came in to pitch at the beginning of the third in relief of Jenni Brooks who started game two. Sterneker kept the Shockers within striking distance inside the circle. During the top of the third and fourth innings, Sterneker retired all six Redbird batters while striking out four of the six during the top of the third and fourth.
Due to Sterneker holding down the Redbirds in the top of the third and fourth, Wichita State was able to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Wichita State completed their four-run comeback by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead.
Back-to-back hits by Spring and Fortner produced the three runs, all with one out in the inning. As Spring singled and advanced to second on the throw home, Johnson scored to trim the Redbirds lead to 4-3. Moments later, Fortner hit a two-RBI single, scoring Spring and Williams to give the Shockers their first lead of the game at 5-4 after four innings.
Wichita State loaded the bases with one out and Fortner at the plate during the bottom of the fifth. However, Fortner immediately hit into a 3-2-4 double play, keeping the game at 5-4 after five innings.
Regan Romshek hit a pinch-hit, lead-off homer to deep left in the top of the sixth to tie the game at five apiece. A Kelsey Turczyn single moments after Romshek's homer prompted the Shocks to enter Katie Malone. Malone's wild pitch during the Laura Repp at-bat advanced Kelsey Turczyn to third, but Malone struck out Lindsey Greene and Heineman to strand two runners while keeping the game tied at five after the top half of the sixth.
Hitz hit her two-run, go-ahead homer to deep left center, giving the Shockers their second lead of the game at 7-5 after six innings. Wichita State was three outs away from their second Saturday doubleheader sweep in a row.
Wichita State completes their three-game series with Illinois State on Sunday afternoon inside Wilkins Stadium at noon.
-WICHITA STATE-
