The RoundHouse | 4/22/2023 7:48:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
Senior day started off well for Wichita State's
Zoe Jones when coach
Kristi Bredbenner wrote her name in the lineup. Then it got better.
Jones, who missed the past seven games with a hand injury, homered off the top of the wall in center, singled and walked in her return. No. 23 Wichita State defeated East Carolina 4-0 at Wilkins Stadium to take the series entering the finale at noon Sunday.
Freshman
Alex Aguilar threw a three-hitter and didn't walk a batter or allow a runner to reach second base. Shortstop
Sydney McKinney made another spectacular diving play on a groundball and center fielder
Lauren Lucas performed two sliding catches for the Shockers (39-8, 12-2 American Athletic Conference).
Jones' return as cleanup hitter, however, provided the day's best highlight against the Pirates (26-22, 3-11).
She hit home run No. 13 to tie with
Addison Barnard for the team lead and scored twice. Jones took batting practice on Friday, the first day the possibility of a return became real.
"It couldn't have played out any more perfect," she said. "Senior day. My first game back. A bunch of family and friends here. To be on the field with my teammates again, that's the best thing."
Jones made the best of her two-plus weeks as an observer at practice and games. She took part in team meetings and scouting reports, doing everything she could to stay sharp without swinging a bat. She watched the Shockers go 6-1 in her absence with a loss to Houston and a win at No. 3 Oklahoma State and confirmed her belief that softball isn't something to stress out about.
"I learned a lot," she said. "Sitting out and watching everything – it's just a game. That's what I did today. Played like I have my whole life, not really expecting big things to happen."
The Shockers kept chugging along without Jones and scored 41 runs over the past seven games. Her return deepens the conference's best hitting lineup. Six Shockers hit .279 or better and six own five homers or more.
"It made smile to have her back," Bredbenner said. "She made the most of it."
Jones' home run gave the Shockers a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. She walked and struck out in her previous at-bats. In the fifth, she homered off an 0-1 pitch with one out. She lofted the pitch and it bounced off the top of the wall and landed beyond the fence.
"My at-bat before, I was still knocking dust off," she said. "Next at-bat, I watched a really good pitch go. The next one was the same thing, and I pulled the trigger."
Aguilar, much like
Lauren Howell on Friday in a 5-1 win, gave the offense time to build a lead by limiting the Pirates. Aguilar didn't allow a hit until the third and retired eight straight hitters in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. She threw 89 pitches, 65 for strikes.
"She does a great job of spinning the ball," Bredbenner said. "She doesn't try to do too much. Great job of hitting her spots and mixing speeds."
Auguilar threw her eighth complete game and her second in a row after Tuesday's 3-1 win at No. 3 Oklahoma State in eight innings.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
