The Class B No. 10 Wayne High softball team came from behind and won an extra-inning thriller over district rival Wisner-Pilger on Thursday, getting a run in the bottom of the eighth to earn a 5-4 win at the Wayne Summer Sports Complex.
The Blue Devils drew first blood in the second on a bases-loaded walk by Ashten Gibson and an RBI single by Kiara Hochstein. The visiting Gators scored a run in the third, then used three doubles as part of a three-run, four-hit fifth inning to take a 4-2 advantage.
Annie Kniesche tripled and scored on an error to make it 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, and Jenna Trenhaile hit a towering solo homer with two out in the sixth to tie the game up.
In the eighth, Wayne’s defense kept the Gators off the board, and after a Gibson single and an error loaded the bases, Hochstein lashed a single up the middle to score Jamie Gamble – who started the inning on second under the international tiebreaker rule – with the winning run.
Hochstein, Trenhaile and Kniesche each had two hits to highlight Wayne’s eight-hit attack. Belt threw four innings and allowed one run on two hits while striking out seven to start the game, then came on in relief of Gibson to pitch the final three innings, striking out three to finish with 10 strikeouts on the night.
The win improved Wayne’s record to 17-3 on the season. They will play in the Adams Central Invitational on Saturday in Wayne, taking on Ord in the first round at 10 a.m.
