Wayne State used a season-high 15 hits and matched a season-best with 11 runs scored as the Wildcat softball team rebounded from an 11-3 defeat in the opener to win the second game 11-8 at MSU Moorhead.
The host Dragons produced six runs in the second inning to take an early 7-1 lead and MSU Moorhead scored in four of five innings to post an 11-3 win in five innings in the opener.
Wayne State scored its first run of the game in the second inning as senior second baseman Abbie Hix walked and scored on a Raquell Penke RBI single to left field.
The Wildcats scored twice in the fourth inning as Emily Chandler singled and scored on a Penke single to left field followed by an RBI single from Kamryn Sparks that brought home Ashley Hernandez.
Wayne State had six hits in the game, led by Penke going 2-for-2 with two RBI. Morgan Vasa doubled while Chandler, Hernandez and Sparks each singled. Makenna Adkison was tagged with the pitching loss.
In the second game, the Wildcat offense erupted with a season-high 15 hits while matching a season-high with 11 runs scored as Wayne State overcame an early 8-5 deficit to earn a split.
The Wildcats scored three runs in the first, highlighted by a two-run single from Hernandez and an RBI single by Taylor Menard.
After MSU Moorhead scored twice in the bottom of the first, Wayne State matched the Dragons with a pair of runs in the top of the second for a 5-2 lead. Hix lined a double to center field that scored Kortney Buresh, while Sparks singled and scored when Chandler reached on a Dragon fielding error.
The host Dragons then scored six runs in the bottom of the frame, taking an 8-5 lead on the Wildcats. It stayed that way until the fifth, when a pair of home runs capped a five-run outburst to give the Wildcats the lead for good. Chandler opened the inning with a solo homer, Hix and Menard each singled to left field with Hernandez notching a ground-rule double that scored Hix. Sparks then followed with a three-run blast to cap the big inning.
Chandler added another solo homer, this one coming with one out in the sixth, to close the scoring as the Wildcats rebounded to earn a split.
Wayne State ended the game with a season-high 15 hits, led by Chandler’s two solo homers that moved her into second place on the all-time home run list at Wayne State with 29, moving past Sam O’Brien’s 28 homers. Chandler was 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
Hix and Menard each went 3-for-4 with Hix having a double. Sparks went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and two runs scored. Vasa and Penke each added a single. Riley Vanderveen fired a complete game to earn the win in the circle.
Wayne State (11-28, 2-20 NSIC) will visit Northern State Saturday for a 12 p.m. doubleheader in Aberdeen, S.D.
