Softball finishes opening weekend with 5-0 win over Wichita State

Nick Bratcher

The Lady Toppers broke their streak of breaking even Sunday and came out of the weekend with a winning record.

WKU (3-2) defeated Wichita State, 5-0, in its final day of action in the Gaucho Classic in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Head Coach Tyra Perry said the clutch hits WKU had been lacking this weekend broke through Sunday.

“We had a couple clutch hits in a row — something we’ve been lacking in our previous games,” she said.

WKU took the lead in the fifth inning on a throwing error by WSU’s Sammie Shook, scoring senior outfielder Elizabeth Ferrell.

The Lady Toppers never looked back as they added four insurance runs on three hits in the sixth inning to seal the win.

Sophomores Ciara Garcia and Mallorie Sulaski led the team on offense, each going 2-for-4 at the plate.

Sophomore pitcher Kim Wagner (1-1) earned the shutout win and yielded just four hits, half as many as her last outing.

Perry praised her pitcher’s efforts in the win.

“We had a great pitching performance from Kim Wagner,” she said. “She stepped up and did a great job on the mound for us.

“She finished the job a little bit better today and worked ahead a lot more and got better results because of it.”

For more on WKU’s opening weekend, see Tuesday’s Herald.