Wichita State Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. – Two home runs and a complete game from Ryley Nihart lifted Wichita State to a 9-4 win over the South Florida Bulls on Friday evening at Wilkins Stadium.
After a scoreless opening frame, Gabby Scott opened the scoring for Wichita State with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning. Krystin Nelson doubled the lead soon after with a sacrifice fly and Ellee Eck ripped a double off the wall, giving the Shockers a 3-0 lead through two.
In the fourth, the Shocker bats returned to work as Brookelyn Livanec fired a ball up the middle, driving in a run and putting the Shockers up 4-0. Later in the inning, Taylor Sedlacek added to her power numbers with a rocket three-run shot to center field, nearly doubling the lead to 7-0. Camryn Compton followed up with an opposite-field solo homer, putting the Shockers up 8-0 through four innings.
Facing a potential run-rule defeat, South Florida scratched a run across with a sacrifice fly, making it an 8-1 game, and went on to score two more, getting one on a steal home and another on an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-3.
In the Shocker fifth, Livanec got a run back for the home team with a sacrifice fly, putting the Shockers back up by six, 9-3.
USF made it 9-4 with a two-out solo homer in the seventh, but Nihart held the Bulls off to get the final out.
Eight Shockers recorded a hit in the game, with Eck and Jodie Epperson recording two each.
Nihart's complete game victory came behind allowing only one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts.
Next Up
The Shockers begin game two of the series with the Bulls on Saturday at 2:00 PM at Wilkins Stadium.