The Wayne State softball team dropped a pair of games Saturday at the Hy-Vee Softball Classic in St. Joseph, Mo.
In the first game, Missouri Southern cranked out 16 hits off pitchers Riley Vanderveen and Nataliah Hopkins and defeated the Wildcats 5-2.
The Lions scored two runs in the second off Vanderveen and added one run in the fourth and two in the fifth against Hopkins. Wayne State avoided the shutout scoring two runs in the top of the sixth inning to close out the scoring.
Emily Chandler’s bases-loaded walk scored pinch runner Sarah Hunter, while the second run was scored by Abbie Hix on a fielder’s choice by Monique Alyea.
Alyssa Schropp finished 4-for-4 to lead a nine-hit attack, while Rachel Shumaker was 2-for-3. Katelyn Wobken, Hix and Jenna Stewart each had singles.
In the second game of the day, ninth-ranked Central Oklahoma scored five in the fourth inning to come away with a 5-3 win over the Wildcats.
Wayne State took a 1-0 lead in the second when Hix singled and scored on a Monique Alyea single. The Wildcats increased the lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth when Emily Chandler doubled and crossed home plate on a Rachel Shumaker single.
Central Oklahoma struck for five runs in the bottom of the fourth on four hits and three Wildcat errors to take the lead for good. Wayne State got a run in the sixth when Chandler walked and later scored on a passed ball, but Wayne State couldn’t score again.
Shumaker finished 2-for-2 with an RBI while Chandler doubled and scored two runs to lead a six-hit effort. Monique Alyea added an RBI single while Wobken and Hix each singled. Hopkins was the losing pitcher.
The Wildcats, 5-17, play two more games Sunday at the Hy-Vee Softball Classic, battling host and No. 18 Missouri Western at 11 a.m. and Fort Hays State at 3 p.m.
