Wright State’s softball team used timely hitting and lights-out pitching to take two of three games from conference rival Green Bay during a weekend home series.
The Raiders entered the seventh and final inning of the first game trailing 5-3. But they found a renewed offensive rhythm after a Kortney Thackett single loaded the bases for the Raiders and set the stage for another comeback. It was then Alex Machen’s turn to bring WSU base runners home, as Machen drilled a three-run RBI double down the right field line and gave the Raiders a 6-5 lead.
Reagan Stofcheck and Kacie Rapshus kept the hit parade going for WSU. Both players doubled, driving in two more runs and extending the lead to 8-5. After allowing a lead-off double to Phoenix right fielder Marissa Michalkiewicz, Raider’s starting pitcher Krystian DeWitt closed the door on Green Bay’s comeback attempt.
Game two of the Saturday doubleheader found WSU trailing early once again. Phoenix batters got to Raiders’ hurler Montana Wear early and built a 7-1 lead heading into the fourth inning. WSU responded offensively by using small ball tactics against Green Bay. Right fielder Kristi Boreing and Rapshus reached safely on a single and a walk, putting Boreing at first and Rapshus at third. Boreing and Rapshus executed a double steal to help narrow the deficit.
WSU went on to score four runs in the inning and trailed 8-7 heading into the top of the seventh. Raider batters could not find gaps in the defense, and Green Bay held on for a one run victory.
The Sunday rubber match turned into a pitcher’s duel between WSU’s DeWitt and Green Bay’s Lauren Danner. The Raiders were able to break through the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning when Lindsay Barrett’s double brought home Alanna Williams for the game’s first and only run. DeWitt continued her mastery of the Phoenix lineup and allowed just four hits in a 1-0 Raiders win.
Wright State (9-26, 6-6) sits in fifth place in the Horizon League conference standings and turns its attention to Ohio University for a doubleheader in Athens on Thursday.
