Softball dominates exhibition games

On Saturday, the Wichita State softball team opened the season with two exhibition games at Wilkins Stadium against Pratt Community College and Seminole College.

In game one, the Shockers jumped on the Beavers of PCC early and often on the way to a 10-0 win.

In the first inning, junior Cacy Williams drove in senior Erin Carney on a fly ball to left center for the first run of the game, to give the Shockers a 1-0 lead. The Shockers’ bats kept pouring it on in the fourth inning as they scored four runs. Sophomore Britney Fortner hit a line drive up the middle for a double, allowing Melaine Jaegers to score. Williams hit a sacrificed fly to bring in Fortner from second base. A couple batters later, junior Ali Vandever drove in Carney soon after stretching the Shockers’ lead to 5-0.

The Shockers added two more runs from Megan McCracken’s two-run double to center. In the fifth, the team added two more runs, with a two-run grounder up the middle from Jaegers, giving WSU a 10-0 victory for the game. Freshman Kaitlyn Malone pitched five scoreless innings, allowing no runs from PCC.

Head coach Kristi Bredbenner was happy with the Shocker offense and pitching on the day, especially with 11 of 22 players being new to the program.

“Usually for the first games of the fall, you are normally off, but I felt like everybody as a whole stepped up for us,” Bredbenner said. “It was nice to see players play with a little more pressure on them than practice. Today was more evaluation than anything, for me, seeing what they can do at different positions.” 

In the second game of the day, WSU disposed of Seminole College 6-0, as the softball team improved to 2-0 on the season.

The Shockers’ bats didn’t cool off much from the first game. In the second inning, Williams hit the ball hard up the middle, later stealing home for the first run of the game, starting things off with 1-0 lead.

Sophomore Liz Broyles hit a line drive double to right field to score Kennedy Long, and Jaegers hit a grounder down the third base line to eventually score Broyles, leaving the Shockers up 3-0.

In the sixth inning, senior Molly Baker hit a two run homer to left field, increasing the lead to 6-0.

“Well, I was just looking to get a base hit,” Baker said. “I was just trying to score Megan [McCraken]. She was in scoring position. The team mind frame in the dugout was ‘We need to score more insurance runs.’ I was just trying to get a hit.”

Senior Shocker pitcher Sloan Anderson clinched the win, throwing seven innings and allowing just four hits and two strikeouts in the fifth inning.

“It was the first game of the season. I was just trying to remain calm and let the flow of the game come to me,” Anderson said. 

The softball team’s next games are Saturday, Sept. 28, when they take on Crowder at 11 a.m. and Pittsburg State at 1 p.m. at Wilkins Stadium.