Monique Alyea went 6-for-7 on the day and Riley Vanderveen pitched five strong innings in the opener to lead Wayne State in a split of Northern Sun Conference softball against Upper Iowa Tuesday at the Chapman Complex.
In the opener, the Wildcats built an 8-0 lead after three innings, then had to hold off the Peacocks late for an 8-5 win.
Wayne State scored four runs in the first inning on six hits, highlighted by run-scoring singles from Monique Alyea, Jordyn Breithbarth and Rachel Shumaker. They added another run in the second, then three more in the third to build an 8-0 lead.
Upper Iowa came back with two runs in the fourth and made things interesting in the top of the seventh with three runs, putting the tying run at the plate before the Wildcats settled down and finished off the opening-game win.
Monique Alyea was 4-for-4 with two RBI’s in the win. Melanie Alyea finished 2-for-3 while Katelyn Wobken was 2-for-4 and scored twice. Abbie Hix also had two hits in the win. Vanderveen got the win with five solid innings of work, with Nataliah Hopkins pitching the final two innings in relief.
In the nightcap, Wayne State outhit Upper Iowa 7-6, but the Peacocks managed a 3-0 shutout to come away with a split for the day, scoring single runs in the second, third and fifth innings.
Wayne State had three hits in the opening frame but were unable to score, opening the door for the visitors to come back.
Monique Alyea and Rachel Shumaker each went 2-for-3 in the loss. Wobken, Hix and Jenna Stewart each added singles. Hopkins went all the way in the circle to take the loss.
Wayne State (11-33, 5-15 NSIC) is on the road this weekend visiting Bemidji State Saturday and Minnesota Crookston Sunday.
