FINDLAY, Ohio -- The Wayne State University softball squad (40-17-1) advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Championship round with a 3-1 victory over Hillsdale College (25-22) Saturday afternoon at the Marathon Diamonds Sports Complex.

WSU will face Saginaw Valley State (32-18) in the championship round on Sunday.  If WSU wins the 10 a.m. contest, the Warriors will claim their fourth consecutive GLIAC Tournament title.  If the Cardinals take game one, the noon match will be a winner take all with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

Wayne State starting pitcher sophomore Lyndsay Butler (Cambridge, Ont. / Centennial C.V.I.) went the distance striking out 12 and walking three while allowing an unearned run on two hits and a WSU miscue in the top of the seventh.  She retired the first seven Charger batters before back-to-back one out walks in the third.  She escaped that jam with a strikeout and a ground out.

Butler then sat down 10 of the next 11 Hillsdale hitters allowing just one walk before a two-out error in the sixth.  HC scored its lone run in the seventh on a leadoff single by Melissa Felkey just over the second base bag for the first hit allowed by Butler.  After a strikeout, Ainsley Ellison beat out a high chopper down the first base line.  With two outs, Felkey scored on WSU's second error of the contest.  Butler retired Hillsdale leadoff hitter Sarah Grunert on a fly out to center with the tying run at first base to end the contest.

Meanwhile, Charger freshman hurler Danielle Stiene (15-9) kept the Warrior batters off balance.  After allowing a leadoff hit to Butler and a walk to senior second baseman Nikki Fulton (Stratford, Ont. / St. Michael Catholic S.S.) in the bottom of the first, Stiene retired eight straight until Fulton reached on a hit by pitch to start the fourth.  Junior third baseman Jade McGarr (Guelph, Ont. / St. James Catholic) had an infield hit sandwiched around a pair of outs but a Warrior pinch hitter popped out to end the frame.

Junior center fielder Shannon Hilton (Gilford, Ont. / Bradford) reached on a Charger fielding error to start the fifth but was stranded at second.

In the bottom of the sixth, senior catcher Emily Bryce (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester Adams) smacked a one-out 2-0 offering over the left field fence for her first home run of the season (and first since May 10, 2014, vs. Grand Valley State in an NCAA Regional contest at WSU) -- Click here for YouTube video of home run.  With two outs, sophomore left fielder Devin Hentschel (Wyoming, Mich. / Rogers) lined a base hit off the Hillsdale third baseman's glove and sophomore designated player Emily Cava (Brampton, Ont. / Cardinal Leger S.S.) followed with an RBI double to straight away center field to make it 2-0.  Pinch-hitter Shelby Spano (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson) then blooped a double down the left field line just fair to score Cava.

Stiene allowed three earned runs on six hits over her 5.2 innings in the circle with four strikeouts and one walk.  Sarah Klopfer retired the lone batter she faced.

Six different Warriors each had one hit in the contest.