In its home weekend series against University of North Texas, Wichita State softball started freshmen in the circle for all three games.
Ryley Nihart and Ava Sliger combined for three quality starts in the Shockers’ 2-1 series win over the Mean Green.
Nihart and Sliger threw for 17 innings, giving up three earned runs and walking only two North Texas batters in their three starts.
“We’ve got, you know, a core of freshmen that I think are starting to step up and, you know, understand the game a little bit more and gain some confidence,” said WSU head coach Kristi Bredbenner.
Wichita State improved to an even 13-13 on the season, and 2-4 in the American Athletic Conference. North Texas is 19-9 on the year and 2-4 in the conference.
The Shockers, who were predicted to win the AAC in the preseason coaches poll, have faced the teams picked second and third in the conference in the season’s first two series. While the schedule has been a grind thus far, Bredbenner said the team is better for it.
“I think the biggest takeaway from the year is that softball is hard, and, you know, it can be mentally exhausting, mentally draining, mentally challenging,” Bredbenner said. “And, you know, that’s the area that I think our kids have to grow the most.”
After scoring just one run and being swept by Florida Atlantic University, Wichita State’s offense has come alive in the past week.
The Shockers have put up six or more runs in four consecutive games after reaching the number only twice in its previous 17 games. Graduate student Lauren Lucas said the team had been playing with too much pressure on themselves during that stretch.
“We thought that, you know, we had to dig ourselves out of a rut with one swing, and that just wasn’t going to be the case,” Lucas said. “It had to be many good at-bats stacked together. And so I think this weekend, you know, we kind of let the pressure be off of our shoulders and played free, and it worked out to our advantage.”
Friday
Wichita State gave up a seven-spot in the sixth inning, blowing a lead in the series opener, 8-6.
The top of the sixth inning began with a walk by UNT senior Cierra Simon. After a single, Simon scored on a three-run homer. Five batters later, Simon tripled to end the inning with two RBIs and a run scored.
Sophomore Chloe Barber gave up three of the Mean Green runs and junior Alex Aguilar was tagged with the loss after allowing four more. Aguilar had a chance to get out of the inning with the lead, but a ground ball went off her glove for a hit to extend the jam.
The Shockers scored all six of their runs in the third and fourth innings. UNT committed three errors in the third inning, allowing four WSU runs in the process. The Shockers added two more runs when junior Jodie Epperson — who played for the Mean Green last year — homered in the next frame.
Saturday
Wichita State matched North Texas in game two by scoring five runs in the fifth inning, rolling to a 7-2 win. Sliger threw the first complete game of her career, giving up two unearned runs.
“After Friday night’s game, we really, as a team, got together and decided that we were going to bounce back,” Lucas said. “And, you know, we were going to continue to put up runs regardless of anything else that was outside of our control.”
With the top of the order at the plate, the first six Shockers up in the fifth inning reached base with three hits, two walks and an error.
In the fourth inning, UNT scored its second and final run of the game. With two outs and a runner on second base, junior Taylor Sedlacek fielded a ground ball and fired the ball past first base, allowing a run to score. The hitter was thrown out at second base, ending the inning.
Sunday
Nihart threw five innings in the series’ rubber match, earning her first win of the year in the process. Wichita State utilized three homers and a season-high nine walks to beat the Mean Green, 9-3.
Nihart had a tough fall season, but her confidence has improved throughout the spring campaign.
“I think I flipped my mindset, came out there and just did my thing,” Nihart said. “… Just kept to myself and stayed level-headed. I think that’s helped me a lot, not letting my eyes get too high and my lows get too low.”
Nihart walked one batter during the three-game series. She pitched to contact, allowing some hard-hit balls but trusting the Wichita State defense to secure more outs than hits.
“I’m not going to blow the ball by anybody, and I think I’m more of a spin pitcher and just working outs and making them hit the ball, and that’s what I’ve done so far,” Nihart said.
Wichita State teed off on UNT’s pitching midway through the game. In the third inning, senior Camryn Compton and freshman Gabby Scott smashed near-identical homers to center field, leading to five runs. Scott’s home run was the first of her career.
In the next frame, Lucas earned two RBIs with a pop-up to left field that carried over the wall.
Lucas said facing tough pitching earlier in the season is beginning to pay off for the Shockers.
“For a while, we weren’t seeing the fruits of our labors, really,” Lucas said. “And I think now we’re starting to, and we’re starting to see that, you know, we faced some tough, tough pitching in the first three weeks of the season, and it’s led up to some success against some more tough pitching.”
Facing a run-rule defeat, North Texas hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to cut its deficit to six, 8-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, North Texas redshirt freshman Blayze McNemar lost a Compton fly ball in the sun in left field, allowing a Wichita State run to score when the ball touched the grass. After the at-bat, McNemar was given sunglasses by the North Texas center fielder.
Next up, Wichita State will play a midweek non-conference game against Texas State University on Wednesday, March 19. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas.
