TAMPA, Fla. – The Wichita State softball team defeated the USF Bulls, 2-0, to move into a tie for first in the American Athletic Conference standings with two games of the regular season left.
Bailey Lange's home run proved to be the game winner with the Shockers needing only one more win to clinch at least a share of the conference title, two will win it outright.
Mackenzie Wright led off the game with an infield single but a sacrifice bunt and two straight ground outs left her at third base.
In the second inning the Shockers took the lead.
Bailey Lange crushed a solo shot over the right field fence, her seventh home run of the season, before retiring the Bulls in order to close out the bottom half.
In the third,
Laurie Derrico smacked a deep double into center field for her only hit of the evening, but the Shockers left her there. A leadoff walk, sacrifice bunt and groundout moved a runner to third for USF but the second straight groundout to Derrico at shortstop kept the Shockers in the lead.
USF threatened again in the bottom of the fourth, getting runners at third and second on an error, but a lineout to Derrico and a strikeout looking by Lange stranded the Bulls.
Paige Luellen led off the fifth with a single up the middle with
Mauriana Jamele's sacrifice bunt moving her to second.
Morgan Palmer ran for Luellen at second with a first pitch single from
Asea Webber bouncing off the corner of the second base to get Palmer home and pushing the score to 2-0.
The Bulls threatened again in the sixth with two singles getting runners on the corners but a big swinging strikeout from Lange kept WSU in the lead.
Luellen got her second single of the evening in the seventh with a shot into right center. Jamele's sacrifice bunt again moved her to second base. Wright was intentionally walked to get two runners on but the Bulls got out of the inning.
Lange (18-10) sat down USF in order, getting her fourth and fifth strikeouts, for the complete game win to move Wichita State to 30-18 on the season, 12-7 in The American. This is the fourth 30-win season for head coach Kristi Bredbenner.
The second game of the series is tomorrow with the first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT.
