Wayne High softball standout Tori Kniesche is taking her talents to the Div. I level, signing a letter of intent Thursday to continue her softball career at South Dakota State University.
Kniesche will play for former Wayne State coach Krista Wood, who saw Kniesche develop as a player during her time as the Wildcats head coach.
Kniesche will head to Brookings, S.D. as one of the top pitchers in Wayne and Nebraska high school history, setting numerous single-game, season and career marks with her pitching prowess.
She started assaulting the record books in the Blue Devils’ season opener back in August, setting a Class B record with 21 strikeouts in a season-opening win at Blair. She had 20-plus strikeout performances six times during a season in which she set the Class B single-season record for strikeouts in a season with 499.
She finished the year throwing a Class B single-season record 12 no-hitters and finished with a Class B standard of 21 for her career, including nine thrown during the 2017 season. She also set an all-class and Class B record with 27 consecutive strikeouts, breaking the record set by former Wayne standout Molly Hill, who struck out 24 in a row in 2004. Kniesche also set a new Class B record this year with 121 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.
Foer her career, Kniesche was 89-8 in the pitcher’s circle for the Blue Devils with a 0.88 ERA, striking out a Class B-record 1,226 batters while walking 163 and allowing 153 hits. As a batter, she hit .449 with 23 homers and 133 runs batted in, and was part of a Wayne High program that amassed a 126-15 record during her four years on the team, winning consecutive state titles in 2018 (Class C) and 2019 (Class B), marking the first time a school has won state softball titles in multiple classes.
