The RoundHouse | 4/28/2021 6:10:00 AM
Neleigh Herring swatted the 1-1 pitch over the right-field fence and that swing went a long way to pulling Wichita State out of the closest thing to a slump it's experienced this season.
Herring's home run gave Wichita State a 3-2 win over No. 11 Oklahoma State at Wilkins Stadium on Tuesday. The Shockers showed the power that highlights this season, and also hustle on the bases, great pitching and air-tight defense.
The Shockers, losers of four of their past five, needed Herring's blast to clear the fence in a way that everyone in the stands and in the dugout felt. Herring, in a 1-for-21 slump entering the game, needed all three of her hits, especially the final one that gave pitcher
Bailey Lange a lead requiring three outs to hold it.
"It was awesome," Herring said. "A little bit of relief, because I finally feel like I'm seeing the ball and hitting the ball well and helping my team. After that, I was like 'Oh, we got this. We're going to win this game.'"
Herring's confidence after her sixth-inning homer was backed by Lange – who beat OSU for the second time this season - in the circle needing three outs. Lange gave up a single to lead off the seventh and then retired the next three hitters, ending the game on a popup by Karli Petty to shortstop
Sydney McKinney.
The Shockers (34-9-1) rebounded from a 1-3 weekend against USF that dropped them into third place in the American Athletic Conference behind Tulsa and USF. Wichita State travels to Tulsa for its final conference series starting Friday. It faces No. 1 Oklahoma next week at Wilkins Stadium to continue a closing stretch of 15 games against teams in the top 100 of the NCAA power rankings, 11 of those ranked in the top 51.
"We needed this to get our heads right for this weekend and get that confidence back," coach
Kristi Bredbenner said. "This is our team, this is who needs to play this weekend in Tulsa."
Lange held Oklahoma State (36-6) to five hits, struck out four and walked none. She improved to 5-1 vs. the Cowgirls as a Shocker.
"Last weekend was tough, so we needed to go out there and compete and try to get a win to get back on track," she said.
Lange recovered nicely after giving up back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to tie the game, allowing one more runner and calmly ending the attempt at a seventh-inning rally. She rarely let the Cowgirls hit the ball in the air. McKinney, at shortstop, and second baseman
Kaylee Huecker, gobbled up groundballs throughout the evening.
"They're really good hitters, so I knew I had to keep the ball low," Lange said. "You saw when I brought it up, they hit two home runs. Keep the ball low and make them chase the changeup."
Wichita State maximized its five hits against Oklahoma State's top pitchers to produce its runs. McKinney homered to lead off the game against Carrie Eberle, who held the Shockers to four hits in a 5-2 win earlier this season. Reliever Kelly Maxwell gave up one hit in two innings – the homer by Herring.
The Shockers took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning by taking advantage of sloppy defense.
Lauren Johnson, running for Herring, scored from second base when second baseman Petty bobbled a groundball from Huecker.
"
Lauren Johnson just never stopped," Bredbenner said. "Against good pitching, we're not always going to put up big numbers. This is the team that is fun to coach. They can do it in all different types of ways."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
