Kim Vidlak went 3-for-5 with three RBI to help the Wayne State College softball team edge Bemidji State 5-4 in nine innings Friday afternoon in the second game of a Northern Sun Conference twinbill played in Bemidji, Minn.
The host Beavers won the opener 7-0 as pitcher Stephi Dullum fired a six-hit shutout. The Beavers scored all seven runs in the first three innings – two in the first, three in the second and two in the third.
Taylor Menard went 2-for-3 to pace Wayne State at the plate. Vidlak and Emily Chandler each doubled while Ashley Hernandez and Raquell Penke each recorded singles. Maddie Moser worked 5 1/3 innings in the game and was tagged with the pitching loss.
The second game saw the Wildcats stave off back-to-back late inning rallies by Bemidji State as Wayne State scored in the top of the ninth to come away with a split.
The game was scoreless until the fifth when Vidlak drilled a two-run single to left field that scored Kamryn Sparks and Morgan Vasa for a 2-0 Wildcat lead.
The score remained 2-0 until Bemidji State scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.
Wayne State regained the momentum in the top of the eighth as the Wildcats produced two runs for a 4-2 lead, thanks to an RBI single by Emily Chandler and a Bemidji State throwing error. Chandler’s RBI was her 146th career RBI, tying her with the late Kaiti Williams for the most ever by a Wildcat player.
Bemidji State tied the game again with two in the bottom of the eighth, but Vladk drove home Morgan Vasa with the winning run in the top of the ninth. Bemidji State opened the bottom of the ninth with a triple, but Wayne State got an out at home on a fielder’s choice and the Beavers left the tying run at third as the Wildcats salvaged the win.
Wayne State had 10 hits in the game, led by Vidlak going 3-for-5 with three RBI. Buresh ended 2-for-5 with a run scored while Chandler was 1-for-5 with an RBI. Vasa went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Riley Vanderveen pitched into the eighth inning, allowing 11 hits and four runs (two earned) with one strikeout and two walks. Moser relieved for the final 1 1/3 innings and earned the pitching win.
Wayne State (13-32, 4-24 NSIC) closes out the regular season Saturday at Minnesota Crookston, starting at 1 p.m.
