Wichita State softball took three of four games at the OU Tournament in Norman, Oklahoma. The Shockers beat Bowling Green State University and Abilene Christian University twice. The Shocker’s only loss came to the hosts, No. 2 University of Oklahoma.
The Shockers have a 9-5 season record and have lost all four games against ranked teams.
Saturday
Bowling Green
After only scoring 12 runs in the previous weekend, Wichita State hit the ground running in the first matchup against Bowling Green. The Shockers put across 15 runs in a 15-4 run-rule win over the Falcons.
Bowling Green scored in the first inning, but the Shockers piled on the next six runs with the help of three Falcons errors.
Wichita State scored four runs in the third inning by hitting back-to-back-to-back doubles. Junior second baseman Sami Hood extended the lead to 11 runs with her second home run of the season in the fourth inning.
The Shockers defense committed a season-high five errors. In the circle, freshman Ava Sliger got her first win in her collegiate career, giving up four unearned runs.
Sunday
No. 2 Oklahoma
In a repeat of last year’s matchup with the Sooners, three runs from Oklahoma in the first inning helped down the Shockers. The Sooners beat Wichita State, 8-1.
Oklahoma scored six runs before the Shockers scored their first. The only WSU run came from a graduate student Ellee Eck home run in the fourth. The Shockers struck out a season-high ten times.
Abilene Christian
The Shockers rebounded in the second half of the doubleheader, beating Abilene Christian, 3-1.
After a slow start with three straight zeros thrown up by both teams, the Wildcats broke through with a solo home run in the fourth inning. The Shockers took the lead on a two-run pinch-hit home run from sophomore Sydney Zenon in the fifth.
In the seventh, the Shockers scored an insurance run from a Hood single. Junior pitcher Alex Aguilar earned her fifth win of the season and sophomore pitcher Chloe Barber got her second save. With the win, head softball coach Kristi Bredbenner won her 400th game as the Shockers’ head coach.
Monday
Abilene Christian
Wichita State ended the OU Tournament on a good note, beating Abilene Christian for the second straight day, 10-3.
Wichita State got on the board first, as Hood hit an RBI single. The Wildcats tied the game after scoring on an error.
In the third inning, juniors Taylor Sedlacek and Jodie Epperson and senior Camryn Compton all hit home runs. In the sixth inning, the Shockers put up four runs with the help of three Wildcat errors.
The softball team will travel home for the first time this season to play in the Shocker Invitational. Wichita State will compete against Oklahoma State University, the University of Missouri, South Dakota State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from Thursday, Feb. 27, through Sunday, March 2.
