Wichita State’s softball team lost its conference series on the road against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2-1, from Thursday, March 28 through Saturday, March 30.
The Shockers fell to 17-12 overall this season and 8-4 in American Athletic Conference matchups. The 49ers improved to 20-13 overall. Wichita State is now tied for third in the conference with Charlotte and Tulsa, trailing Florida Atlantic and North Texas at 10-2.
Thursday
In a tightly-contested game, Wichita State lost the series’ first affair, 4-3.
The Shockers led 2-0 after redshirt senior Lainee Brown hit an RBI single in the fifth inning, but Wichita State gave up a run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth inning and trailed 4-2.
A leadoff home run by senior Addison Barnard in the seventh inning was not enough of a spark for the Shockers to etch a mark in the win column.
Senior Lauren Howell was credited with the loss, giving up two runs on two hits in the sixth. Brown and Barnard each hit 2-for-4 in the game.
Friday
Four Charlotte runs in the first inning led to another loss for Wichita State in game two, 11-7.
After going runless through four innings, the Shockers caught fire in the fifth inning as sophomore Taylor Sedlacek hit a two-RBI homer and redshirt senior Bailey Urban sent a solo bomb to center field, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
The sixth inning saw the same fireworks as Wichita State took a 7-4 lead after graduate student CC Wong hit an RBI triple and Sedlacek sent another multi-RBI home run over the fence, earning three more runs.
Disaster struck during the bottom half of the sixth inning as the Shockers gave up seven runs and two multi-RBI base hits to decide the final score.
After pitching five innings of solid ball, junior Alison Cooper earned her fifth loss of the season due to the sixth-inning implosion. Cooper struck out five batters but gave up seven runs, six earned on five hits and four walks.
Sedlacek went 2-for-2 batting with five RBIs and a pair of home runs.
Saturday
Wichita State avoided a sweep in the third game, winning 7-5.
Wong crossed the plate in the first inning for the first run of the game, and Barnard hit a three-RBI home run in the second to take an early 4-0 lead.
The 49ers scored two runs in the third and fourth innings, but sophomore Sami Hood extended the Shockers’ lead to 5-2 after an RBI single in the fifth.
Wong hit her 11th home run of the season in the sixth inning with a two-run shot to right field to make it 7-3.
Charlotte scored two late runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but these proved insufficient, and Wichita State walked away with the win. .
Sophomore Alex Aguilar pitched her first complete game of the season and earned her eighth win, giving up five runs on five hits and striking out four batters.
Barnard went 2-for-2 at the plate with three RBIs. Wong and junior Krystin Nelson each hit 2-for-3.
The Shockers’ softball team will play in Wilkins Stadium for its conference series against the University of Tulsa from Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7. The first pitch is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.
