PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Wayne State University softball team (23-15 overall, 7-2 GLIAC) extended its winning streak to five game with a doubleheader sweep, 5-1 and 6-3, at Lake Erie College (7-13 overall, 1-7 GLIAC) on Monday afternoon in a make-up of a twinbill originally scheduled for March 28.
The host Storm took an early 1-0 lead in the opener as Savannah Karako led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored on a one-out single by Hannah Shevenell.
The Warriors tallied four unearned runs in the top of the fourth. Freshman right fielder
Kristen Lucas (Newmarket, Ont. / Mulock S.S.) started the rally by reaching on an error. Senior second baseman
Nikki Fulton (Stratford, Ont. / St. Michael Catholic S.S.) followed with a single, and senior catcher
Emily Bryce (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester Adams) also had a base hit to load the bases. Junior third baseman
Jade McGarr (Guelph, Ont. / St. James Catholic) hit a sacrifice fly to plate Lucas with the tying run. With two outs, sophomore
Devin Hentschel (Wyoming, Mich. / Rogers) then blasted her second career home run scoring Fulton and pinch-runner
Hailey Lazarek (Allen Park, Mich.). Hentschel's only previous four-bagger came on May 3, 2014, off Grand Valley State's Lauren Gevaart in a GLIAC Tournament semifinal contest.
Wayne State added an insurance run in the top of the sixth with McGarr hitting a leadoff double, and Hentschel laced a one-out single plating McGarr. For Hentschel, it was just her second career multiple-RBI game.
WSU starter
Lyndsay Butler (Cambridge, Ont. / Centennial C.V.I.) went the distance in the circle striking out nine and walking one, while allowing one run on four hits to improve to 12-6. Dawn Ondercin (5-5) was tagged with the loss despite giving up just one earned run. She struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Hentschel had her fourth career three-hit contest and drove in four runs. Six other Warriors each had one hit in the opener.
Lake Erie scored first again in the nightcap as Ally Hajnosz hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the first.
Wayne State tied the game in the bottom of the frame as Butler had a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lucas. After a foul out and a walk, McGarr hit another double plating Butler with the tying run.
McGarr drove in the game's next run in the bottom of the third. Lucas singled to begin the inning and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Fulton. Bryce's single put runners on the corners and McGarr scored Lucas with a sacrifice fly to right.
With WSU clinging to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Fulton had a leadoff double. With one-out McGarr smacked a two-run home run giving her a four-RBI contest for the third time in her career (both previous games were on April 20, 2013, against Malone at home).
The Warriors tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Junior shortstop
Gabby Williams (South Lyon, Mich.) began the inning with a single and sophomore
Allie Buchanan (Cambridge, Ont. / Galt C.I.) reached on an error. After a lineout, Lucas reached on an error that scored both Williams and Buchanan.
The Storm did not go quietly in the seventh with back-to-back doubles from Liz Karako and Savannah Karako to make it 6-2. Butler entered the circle for Warrior starter
Briana Lee (Canton, Mich. / Salem). After the first batter reached on an error, a strikeout, and a sacrifice fly preceeding a single bringing the tying run to the plate but Butler struck out Jessacca Girdona to end the game.
Nine different Warriors had hits in the game led by two-hit performances by Fulton and McGarr.
Lee became just the 10th pitcher in Wayne State softball history with 50 career victories with the win. She struck out two and walked one, while allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in her six-plus innings of work. Butler struck out two of the five batters she faced but did not earn a save because she entered with a four-run lead and only one runner on base.
Wayne State will play a Wednesday doubleheader at Saginaw Valley State (3 p.m.) before returning to Motown for conference twinbills against Walsh (Saturday at 1 pm) and Malone (Sunday at noon).
