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Wayne State University Athletics

Kennedy Cole 2026 vs. Parkside
Romer Santacruz
Kennedy Cole went 3-for-5 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI at Purdue Northwest.
7
Winner Wayne State WSU 13-17, 5-6 GLIAC
4
Purdue Northwest PNW 19-16, 5-6 GLIAC
Winner
Wayne State WSU
13-17, 5-6 GLIAC
7
Final
4
Purdue Northwest PNW
19-16, 5-6 GLIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wayne State WSU 0 3 1 0 0 1 2 7 9 0
Purdue Northwest PNW 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 6 0

W: Long, Sydney (7-8) L: Hailie Charmat (6-5)

5
Wayne State WSU 13-18, 5-7 GLIAC
7
Winner Purdue Northwest PNW 20-16, 6-6 GLIAC
Wayne State WSU
13-18, 5-7 GLIAC
5
Final
7
Purdue Northwest PNW
20-16, 6-6 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wayne State WSU 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 5 11 1
Purdue Northwest PNW 1 0 0 2 0 4 X 7 11 0

W: Abbey Bond (4-5) L: Batton, Hayden (2-5)

Game Recap: Softball | | Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Softball Splits Doubleheader At Purdue Northwest

Warriors win the opener 7-4, but fall 7-5 in game two.

HAMMOND, Ind. - The Wayne State University softball team (13-18 overall, 5-7 GLIAC) began its six-game road trip with a split at Purdue Northwest (20-16 overall, 6-6 GLIAC) on Thursday afternoon.  The Warriors won the opener 7-4, while the Pride rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the nightcap 7-5.

GAME 1 RECAP
Despite Pride starter Hailie Charmat (6-5) throwing just nine strikes in 24 pitches in the opening frame and walking two batters, WSU was unable to take an early lead.

In the top of the second, senior Kennedy Cole (Hopkins, Mich. / Wayland Union [Kent State]) drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a two-out single by sophomore Abby Barnes (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Northview).  Sophomore shortstop Hunter Near (Coopersville, Mich.) earned a five pitch walk to load the bases.  Freshman Ellery Garver (Weidman, Mich. / Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart ), who was making her first career start in right field, laced a 1-1 offering through the left side scoring the game's first run.  Sophomore Elly Koopman (Hudsonville, Mich.) walked on five pitches to make it 2-0.  Junior pitcher Sydney Long (Grand Blanc, Mich.) made it 3-0 with an RBI single.

Wayne State increased its lead to 4-0 in the third as Cole was hit by a pitch, and with one-out junior Molly Hool (Allen Park, Mich.) doubled to score her older sister Maddie Hool (Allen Park, Mich.) from first.

Long was very effective throwing just 27 pitches (22 strikes) in the first three innings, while retiring nine of PNW's first 10 batters.

Purdue Northwest scored twice in the fourth on an RBI ground out by Gracie Jensen and a two-out solo home run by Sylvia Mudis.

Near blasted a solo home run with two outs in the sixth, which tied her for the team lead with three round-trippers, to make it 5-2.

The Warriors added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh as Long had a one-out single, and three consecutive two-out hits - single by Cole, RBI single by Maddie Hool, and an RBI double by Molly Hool.  The two-bagger was Molly Hool's team-leading 10th double of the season.

The Pride scored twice in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out, two-run home run by Grace Wilson.

IN THE CIRCLE
Long improved to 7-8 by allowing just six hits in seven innings and four earned runs.  She struck out two and walked one.

Charmat surrendered seven earned runs on nine hits over seven innings.  She struck out three and walked five, plus hit a batter.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Long and Molly Hool each had two hits, with Molly Hool recording two RBI.  The top four in the WSU lineup went 4-for-12 with four walks for a .500 on-base percentage.

LEADING THE PRIDE
Kylie Dugan had two hits, while Wilson had two RBI.

GAME 2 RECAP
Purdue Northwest took a 1-0 lead after only four pitches in the bottom of the first on an infield single by Kylie Dugan combined with a two-base throwing error followed by a sacrifice fly by Jessy Del Toro.

Wayne State answered back with a pair of runs in the top of the second.  Maddie Hool had a leadoff single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Molly Hool, advanced to third on a single by Barnes on which the Pride shortstop made a great stop.  Maddie Hool scored on the first and third double steal, with Barnes crossing home plate on an infield single by Near.

WSU extended its lead to 3-1 in the third on a leadoff single by Koopman and a one-out double by Cole.

The Warriors led 4-1 in the fourth after a two-out triple by Near and an RBI single by Garver.

The Pride pulled within a run at 4-3 on a two-run home run by Mudis in the bottom of the fourth.

Wayne State re-gained a two-run advantage (5-3) in the top of the sixth on a pair of walks to Barnes and Near, and a single by Garver to load the bases.  A sacrifice fly by Koopman plated Barnes.

PNW tallied four runs in the sixth on four singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly in the first six batters of the frame.

In the top of the seventh, Cole had a leadoff walk and Maddie Hool followed with a single.  Pinch-hitter Sydney Long worked a two-out walk to load the bases, but a flyout ended the contest.

IN THE CIRCLE
Senior Hayden Batton (Plainfield, Ind. / Avon) took the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits in 5.2 innings.  She struck out two and walked one.  Junior Kyra Shadduck (DeWitt, Mich. [Lansing C.C.]) retired the lone batter she faced on one pitch.

Kendra Steinberg started for PNW and allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits in 4.1 innings.  She walked one and did not record a strikeout.  Chloe Tanner worked 1.1 innings and allowed one earned on one hit and two walks with one strikeout.  Abbey Bond (4-5) earned the win in relief by recording four outs and allowing one hit and two walks but zero runs.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Five different WSU batters had a two-hit affair - Near, Garver, Koopman, Cole and Maddie Hool.  

LEADING THE PRIDE
Amanda DeBoer went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored.  Mudis drove in three runs, while Olivia Hernandez had two hits and two RBI.

WAYNE STATE NOTES
The game one victory for the Warriors ended a nine-game losing streak at Dowling Park.  WSU's last win previously was a 3-0 triumph on May 8, 2021.  Near recorded her fifth triple of the season, just two shy of WSU's single-season record of seven set by Hall of Fame Lyndsay Butler in 2016.  Near has nine career triples, which is tied-for-sixth in program history.  Butler also has the career mark with 22.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will start the second trip through the league on Friday with a doubleheader at Roosevelt.  The Warriors have played six of the other seven schools, with the final weekend of the regular season being back-to-back doubleheaders against your travel partner (for WSU that is Saginaw Valley State).
 
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