The Wayne State softball team suffered two rare losses on their home field Thursday as Upper Iowa edged the Wildcats 1-0 in 11 innings and 3-2 in a key Northern Sun Conference softball matchup at the Chapman Complex.
Wayne State, playing as the visiting team, got a masterful pitching performance from Wayne High graduate Cassy Miller. The senior hurler took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and struck out 15 while allowing just three hits in the hard-luck losing effort.
The Wildcats had opportunities to score with runners in scoring position in the fourth and sixth innings. In the fourth, Emily Chandler singled and moved to second when Abbie Hix reached on an error. In the sixth, Chandler walked and Melanie Alyea reached on a bunt single. The runners advanced on a one-out sacrifice, but were unable to come home.
Finally, in the 11th, the Peacocks used two walks and a bloop single to score the game’s only run and claim the 1-0 win win.
Wayne State had eight hits in the losing effort, two coming from Chandler. Lexie Loos extended her season-high hitting streak to 16 games.
In the nightcap, Upper Iowa took advantage of three Wildcat errors and got the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh to claim the win.
Wayne State trailed 1-0 before scoring a run in the second and another in the third to lead 2-1. Morgan Hoeg drove home Abbie Hix in the second, while Chandler singled and scored on an Hix RBI single in the third.
Upper Iowa tied the game on two errors in the fifth, then got a two-out single in the bottom of the second to finish the sweep.
Chandler was 3-for-4 in the losing effort while Hix went 2-for-2. Loos went 0-for-3 to end her 16-game hitting streak. Shelby Wobken took the loss, allowing four hits and three runs, only one of them earned.
With the losses, Wayne State (25-22, 19-7 NSIC) fell from first to fourth place in the NSIC standings going to the final weekend of the regular season. They host the top team in the league, Minnesota State, in a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and close with a 12 p.m. twinbill against Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday at the Chapman Complex.
