Tori Kniesche and Kendall Dorey combined on a no-hitter in the circle for the Wayne High softball team Tuesday as the Blue Devils whitewashed O’Neill 8-0 in O’Neill.
Wayne got on the board early with four runs in the opening inning. Knieche singled Dorey home with the first run of the game, and Kayla Fleming followed after an O’Neill error. A wild pitch scored Virginia Kniesche, running for her sister, and Hope O’Reilly doubled home Brooklyn Kruse to make it a 4-0 game.
Wayne added three more in the fourth to make it 7-0. Hailey Schroeder scored Dorey on a fielder’s choice, Kruse grounded out to bring home Fleming and Schroeder came home on an error to account for the three runs.
Wayne closed out the scoring in the fifth when Dorey hit the first pitch of the inning over the wall in center for her first home run of the season, then closed out the game in the circle to give Wayne the win, improving their record to 5-0.
Kniesche pitched 1 1/3 innings before Dorey closed out the game. They combined for 10 strikeouts and three walks.
Offensively, Dorey and O’Reilly each had two hits. O’Reilly, Fleming and Aliah Schulz each had a double and Kniesche and Brianna Nissen both added hits.
Wayne has now won 40 consecutive games dating back to the 2018 season. They’ll look to continue that streak at Saturday’s Lincoln Public Schools tournament, where they will face last year’s Class A and Class B champions — Lincoln Southwest and Elkhorn, respectively — along with Waverly in their four-team pool at Doris Bair Park.
