The RoundHouse | 5/20/2023 2:23:00 AM
By Paul Suellentrop
STILLWATER, Okla. - There are no statistics on reviews, but Wichita State coach
Kristi Bredbenner is confident she ended a long losing streak on Friday night.
The Shockers defeated Nebraska 6-5 in the opening game of the NCAA Stillwater Regional for all the usual reasons – big hits, a rock-solid pitching performance from a freshman and good defense.
Two replay requests by Bredbenner that went the way of the Shockers also helped.
"We haven't won a challenge all year," she said. "We've probably tried 15 times at home in different games and haven't been successful. You kind of question whether or not you should do it, but I felt pretty confident those were ones that would go in our favor."
Both did and at times when the Shockers, reeling from an early deficit and a case of NCAA nerves, needed those wins.
Wichita State (44-10) advances to play host Oklahoma State, the No. 6 national seed, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cowgirl Stadium. The winner advances to Sunday's championship game. The loser plays Saturday night in an elimination game.
The Cowgirls (42-14) run-ruled UMBC 9-0 in six innings on Friday. Due to rain delays, the Shockers didn't start until 9:05 p.m., three hours behind schedule, and finished up at midnight.
Wichita State rallied past the Huskers (34-21) with a four-run sixth inning that included four hits and one error. Sydney McKInney tied the game with an RBI double and
Lauren Lucas put the Shockers up 6-5 with a single.
Freshman pitcher
Alex Aguilar completed five innings of one-run relief by working out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the seventh. Second baseman
Sami Hood cut down a runner at the plate for the second out. Aguilar induced a pop up by Caitlynn Neal to McKinney at shortstop to end the game.
"I was just trying to keep calm," Aguilar said. "I have eight great people on the field and Zoe (Jones) in my ear telling me I can do it. Syd in my ear. With those people on the field, it's pretty hard to fail."
Before the fifth inning, Shockers fans had nothing to cheer except the replay decisions.
The first review took a run away from the Huskers in the fourth inning to keep their lead at 5-0. Nebraska's Billie Andrews was ruled safe at home initially after trying to score from first on a double. Bredbenner, confident the umpire didn't have a good look at the tag by catcher
Lainee Brown, appealed and won.
"I actually was surprised he called her safe, so I felt like that was going to be a good challenge," Bredbenner said.
In the fifth with two outs and a runner on,
Addison Barnard was called out at first base on a ball hit to third baseman Sydney Gray. Bredbenner challenged and won, opening the door for a two-run single by
Zoe Jones that cut the Huskers lead to 5-2.
"The second one was a banger," Bredbenner said. "It was close. But with Addie being the one hustling down the line, you just knew you had to roll the dice. Those were momentum-killers for them and momentum-boosters for us."
Huskers coach Rhonda Revelle saw the reversals the same way. Nebraska lost to the Shockers for the third time this season and play UMBC (26-16) in an elimination game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
"One took a run off the board and one added two runs to the board," she said. "Bang-bang calls. Those did shift momentum a lot."
Everything had gone for Nebraska until the replays. The Huskers went up 2-0 on a first-inning home run by Mya Felder. They added three more runs in the third inning, chasing Shockers starter
Lauren Howell, while Nebraska's Courtney Wallace limited the Shockers to a series of pop flys and ground balls.
"Nebraska had all the momentum," Bredbenner said. "That home run was crushed. We looked like we were afraid to lose the game a little bit."
For the first four innings, the offensive malaise that plagued Wichita State late in the season continued.
"We've struggled," Bredbenner said. "We haven't looked ourselves offensively."
McKinney started to change the momentum in the fifth by reaching on a field error by Nebraska shortstop Billie Andrews. Barnard followed with her infield single upon review. Jones single off the wall in center scored McKinney and Barnard
Jones fouled off the first pitch and Bredbenner told her to take a deep breath.
"That's exactly what I did," Jones said. "I took my swing and I knew kind of what I was looking for. I got exactly what I was looking for."
Nebraska's defense gave the Shockers a boost again in the sixth.
Sami Hood reached on a fielding error by Gray and moved to second on a wild pitch.
Taylor Sedlacek singled.
Bailey Urban bounced a single past the Husker shortstop as she moved to cover second. That scored Hood to cut the deficit to two runs.
Wallace, who held the Shockers to a bunt and infield single in the first four innings, wore down.
"This one hurts," Revelle said. "It kind of fell apart quickly. It started with an error and it went from there."
Krystin Nelson made it 5-4 with a sacrifice fly. McKinney doubled on the first pitch to tie the game. Lucas bounced a single up the middle to give the Shockers a 6-5 lead.
With that burst, the late-season slump faded. The Shockers kept the line moving and moved past the regional opener.
"Just believing in each other," McKinney said. "It took us awhile, but we stuck with our plan and it paid off. If you don't do it, the next person is going to do it, or the next person, or the next person."
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
