In its Taylor Swift-themed night, Wichita State lost against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), but was able to come back in its next two games over the weekend to win the series.
The Shockers improved to 21-19 overall, catching UAB in the conference at 12-9.
Game one
Over the weekend, the Shockers added their fourth loss in a row in a blank space scoreboard at Wilkins Stadium as Wichita State was not able to make any runs against the Blazers.
A double from senior Addison Barnard and a single from redshirt senior Lainee Brown’s single were the only hits for Wichita State all night.
UAB started strong in the first inning and placed its first two batters on the bases. After a bunt, the Blazers put their runners into scoring positions and capitalized with two runs. Another run in the sixth added comfort to the Blazer lead.
Junior pitcher Alison Cooper found her groove after the first two UAB runs and managed to strike out 12 Blazers, but without any run support, she still picked up the loss. Cooper finished the night with three runs on four hits in five innings.
Game two
Wichita State found its groove on Saturday when it defeated UAB, 9-1 in a six-inning run-rule victory.
The Shockers put three runs across in the bottom of the first with back-to-back doubles from redshirt senior Bailey Urban and sophomore Sami Hood.
Wichita State added four more runs in the bottom of the second starting with a homer from Barnard and an RBI from Hood.
UAB remained scoreless until the top of the fourth when junior Lindsey Smith hit a solo home run, 7-1.
After three scoreless innings, the Shockers added two more runs at the bottom of the sixth. Following CC Wong’s double, Barnard hit another homer which allowed them to end the game, 9-1.
Senior pitcher Lauren Howell tossed a complete game and allowed three hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
Game three
In the final game of the series, Wichita State defeated the Blazers 5-0 on Sunday morning.
Another scoreless first inning for UAB set the Shockers on the path to success, as in the bottom of the inning Wichita State scored two to set the tone of the game. Taylor Sedlacek hit a homer to score her and Wong.
The Shockers doubled their lead in the second as Wong hit a double to center that allowed junior Krystin Nelson and freshman Mila Seaton to run home.
Wong would add a home run to make the score 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
Freshman pitcher Chloe Barber found her groove in the series, tossing a complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts, just one short from her single-game record of 16. Barber allowed three hits and five walks.
Wichita State softball will travel to Denton, Texas, to face off against the University of North Texas from April 26 through April 28.
