WICHITA, Kan. – Two home runs and a complete game from
Ryley Nihart lifted Wichita State to a 9-4 win over the South Florida Bulls on Friday evening at Wilkins Stadium.
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After a scoreless opening frame,
Gabby Scott opened the scoring for Wichita State with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning.
Krystin Nelson doubled the lead soon after with a sacrifice fly and
Ellee Eck ripped a double off the wall, giving the Shockers a 3-0 lead through two.
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In the fourth, the Shocker bats returned to work as
Brookelyn Livanec fired a ball up the middle, driving in a run and putting the Shockers up 4-0. Later in the inning,
Taylor Sedlacek added to her power numbers with a rocket three-run shot to center field, nearly doubling the lead to 7-0.
Camryn Compton followed up with an opposite-field solo homer, putting the Shockers up 8-0 through four innings.
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Facing a potential run-rule defeat, South Florida scratched a run across with a sacrifice fly, making it an 8-1 game, and went on to score two more, getting one on a steal home and another on an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-3.
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In the Shocker fifth, Livanec got a run back for the home team with a sacrifice fly, putting the Shockers back up by six, 9-3.
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USF made it 9-4 with a two-out solo homer in the seventh, but Nihart held the Bulls off to get the final out.
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Eight Shockers recorded a hit in the game, with Eck and
Jodie Epperson recording two each.
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Nihart's complete game victory came behind allowing only one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts.
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Next Up
The Shockers begin game two of the series with the Bulls on Saturday at 2:00 PM at Wilkins Stadium.