The Wayne State softball team dropped their final two games of the weekend in the 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. to fall to 1-5 on the young season.
In the first game, Southwest Baptist scored two unearned runs and made that stand up in a 2-1 win over the Wildcats.
Both teams had five hits, but one error proved to be the difference as the Bearcats took advantage of the miscue to score a pair of unearned runs in the second inning.
Melanie Alyea got Wayne State on the board in the third inning with a solo homer. The Wildcats had a chance to score in the fifth with two runners on, but couldn’t bring the tying run home.
Alyea was 2-for-3 and Katelyn Wobken also had two hits, including a double. Rachel Shumaker recorded a single. Nataliah Hopkins took the loss in the circle, scattering four hits and six strikeouts while walking one.
In the final game, Wayne State led early before Pittsburg State rallied for a 10-3 win.
Wayne State scored all three of their runs in the opening inning. Alyea scored Wobken with a single and Jordyn Breitbarth followed with an RBI single to plate Emily Chandler. Alyea later scored on an illegal pitch to make it 3-1.
The Gorillas came back with a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth to take the lead for good. They added another run in the sixth and three in the seventh to finish off the win.
Breitbarth had two of Wayne State’s five hits and Blair Shanks also had a pair of hits. Hopkins took the loss in the circle, with Riley Vanderveen and Allison Niemeier pitching in relief.
The Wildcats go on the road Wednesday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Fort Hays State at Hays, Kan.
