#17 Wayne State 2 #16 Augustana 1
Updated Central Region Softball Bracket
The 17th-ranked Wayne State College softball team defeated #16 Augustana 2-1 Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Central Region Bracket #1 Softball Tournament at the Pete Chapman Softball Complex in Wayne. The 43-12 Wildcats, with their 16th straight win, now advance to the NCAA Division II Super Regionals next weekend (May 21-23). Wayne State will face 49-4 Metro State, who defeated Minnesota State 6-0 in the Central Region Bracket #2 final in Colorado Springs, Colorado Sunday afternoon.
The Vikings threatened to score in the first inning as Jenny Brown singled up the middle and advanced to second when Wildcat second baseman Blaire Kuhl dropped the ball on a force play allowing Witt Murray to reach first base. But WSC starter Katie Goetzinger got Traci Fransen to foul out to left field and Brittney Coufal popped to first to end the scoring threat.
Wayne State got on the board in the bottom of the third inning when hot-hitting third baseman Brittany Greenwood hit a line drive over the right center field fence to give the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage. Greenwood was 3 for 3 in Saturday's win over Concordia-St. Paul and finished today's game 2 for 3. The Wildcats added another run later in the inning when Amy Sandstrom singled and scored on Blaire Kuhl's RBI ground out to second base giving WSC a 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats had an opportunity to break the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning. Wayne State loaded the bases with just one out, but Augustana relief pitcher Chelsey Durland got out of the jam when she retired Hannah Engelkamp on a popup to the pitcher and struck out Katie Goetzinger to leave the bases loaded.
Augustana College made the game interesting in the top of the seventh inning. Brittany Coufal reached on a single to start out the inning for the Vikings. Kelsey Kalkman then lined a ball to Wildcat second basemen Kuhl that turned into a double play. The next batter for the Vikings, Chelsea Durland, launched a towering homer over the left field wall to cut the 'Cats lead to 2-1, but Goetzinger struck out Britt Stewart to end the game sending WSC to the Super Regional.
Wayne State pitcher Katie Goetzinger (32-8) broke the WSC single season record for wins in a season with her 32nd win of the year, pitching all seven innings allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts.
The Wildcats had nine hits in the game to four by Augustana. Brittany Greenwood was 2 for 3 at the plate with a solo homer, her first long ball of the season. Kassie Nurton, Amy Sandstrom and Blaire Kuhl each contributed two singles in the win while Aeriell Earleywine singled to round out Wayne State's nine-hit attack.
Wayne State will now play in the NCAA Division II Super Regional, likely at Metro State of Colorado next weekend (May 21-23). Official pairings will be released by the NCAA late Sunday evening.
