The Wayne High softball team won two of three games in their pool at the Lincoln Public Schools Classic on Saturday at Doris Bair Park, beating Fremont and Grand Island Northwest and losing to top-ranked Elkhorn South.
Wayne opened the tournament with a 5-0 shutout of Fremont, limiting the Tigers to three hits in the game. They got a run in the first when Tori Kniesche scored sister Annie Kniesche with a single to right, added another run in the third when Kennedy Maly scored on a passed ball, then broke the game open with three in the sixth on Annie Kniesche’s bases-clearing triple to right.
Maly and Jamie Gamble each had two hits and Maly scored twice to lead the offense. Tori Kniesche threw a three-hit shutout, striking out 13 and walking two.
Wayne used the big bats late in their second matchup, scoring five runs in the fifth to pull away with an 8-1 win over Grand Island Northwest.
Josie Thompson scored the first run of the game in the second when she came home on an Abby Ankeny pop fly that was misplayed by the Vikings. Tori Kniesche brought home Annie Kniesche with a single in the third, and Maly singled home Kayla Fleming in the fourth to make it 3-0.
Northwest got a run in the top of the fifth, but Wayne countered with their big inning, as Sidney Biggerstaff scored on a passed ball, Gamble and Fleming scored on an error, Masyn Dorey came home on a single by Maly and Jenna Trenhaile scored on a wild pitch.
Maly had three hits and the Kniesche sisters both had two hits to lead a 10-hit attack. Tori Kniesche threw a two-hitter, striking out five and walking two.
Wayne closed the day facing top-ranked and defending Class B champion Elkhorn South, and the Storm jumped on Wayne early on their way to a 10-2 win.
Elkhhorn South scored five in the top of the first to take control of the game early, adding three more in the second and two in the fourth to come away with the win.
Wayne scored in the first when Trenhaile came home on a passed ball, added a run in the third on Maly’s RBI double and put one more up in the fourth when Gamble scored on a passed ball.
Trenhaile and Maly each had two hits as Wayne was limited to five hits in the game. Tori Kniesche struck out five and walked five in the losing effort.
Wayne, 7-2, plays in a triangular Tuesday at Dodge.
