GREENVILLE, N.C. – Wichita State had been held in check all afternoon until a five-run seventh inning lifted the Shockers to a come-from-behind 6-4 win vs. East Carolina Saturday afternoon.

Wichita State (30-13, 12-2) maintained pace in the conference standings, just a game back of first place UCF. The win also pushed its win streak to 10 in a row, while clinching another series victory. Wichita State will look for its third straight conference series sweep with a victory on Sunday in the finale vs. the Pirates.

Sydney McKinney drove in a run and scored twice on a pair of singles. Lauren Lucas was 1-for-4, but that one hit was her second grand slam of the season and ninth homer on the year. Addison Barnard went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, but saw her home run streak come to an end at six straight games.

Zoe Jones, Neleigh Herring, Jessica Garcia and Wylie Glover all recorded a hit in the contest.

Caitlin Bingham was in control for much of the game in the circle. She had allowed only one run through the first 6.0 innings before running into trouble in the seventh. Bingham recorded her team-leading 12th win behind four strikeouts. Erin McDonald registered her second save of the season behind an inning of relief.

ECU scored the game's first run on a second inning solo home run to center, but would go silent over the next four frames.

It wasn't until the top of the sixth that Wichita State would finally crack the scoring column. An RBI double from Jones tied the game at 1-1.

In the top of the seventh, Wichita State got back-to-back walks from Garcia and Cassie Passwaters to bring McKinney to the plate with two outs. The All-American would deliver with a go-ahead RBI single up the middle to make it 2-1. After an intentional walk to Barnard, Lucas made the Pirates pay. The Little Elm, Texas, native smashed a grand slam over the scoreboard in right-center to give the Shockers a 6-1 lead.

ECU would not go down quietly, however. In the bottom of the seventh ECU put its first two batters on base, which led to a three-run home run down the left field line to cut the margin to 6-4.

McDonald would relieve Bingham after the home run and proceed to sit the Pirates down, ending any further threat of a comeback.

Up Next
Wichita State and East Carolina wrap up the weekend series on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT.