ST. JOSEPH—Mo. The Wayne State College softball team lost four of five games in the Apple Market Classic last weekend.

But the ‘Cats slammed three consecutive home runs in their lone victory.

 
They opened the weekend Friday afternoon losing both games, starting the day with an 8-1 loss to 19th-ranked Northwest Missouri State.

 
Wayne’s only run of the game came in the third inning, when Monique Alyea singled and scored on a single to right field by Emily Chandler.

 
Seven ‘Cats managed to hit safely. Lexie Loos extended her hitting streak to 15 games with a single, while Rachel Shumaker, Chandler, Shelby Wobken, Katelyn Wobken, Monique Alyea and Morgan Hoeg all had one-base hits.

 
“I knew I had a 15-game hitting streak going on,” Loos said. “Whenever I go up to bat I just try to relax and not think about anything, but just try to find a way on base.”

 
Cassy Miller (3-8) was tagged with the pitching loss, allowing eight runs on seven hits over five innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.  Reliever Sarah Macias worked the final inning and gave up one hit.

 
The second game Friday was against Pittsburg State, which recorded a 13-0, five-inning win over the Wildcats. Wayne had just three hits on the game: a double by Alyssa Schropp and singles from both Chandler and Abbie Hix.

 
Riley VanderVeen (1-3) recorded the pitching loss, working one inning, while Shelby Wobken pitched the final three innings in relief.

 
WSC started Saturday off with a 5-4 win over Central Missouri with back-to-back-to-back homers in the second inning to give the Wildcats momentum.

 
Hix, K. Wobken and Hoeg hit consecutive home runs to give WSC a 3-0 lead.

 
“It felt really good off the bat,” Hoeg said. “When I was rounding the bases, I had a sense of relief because I haven’t been performing as well as I had hoped at the plate in past games.”

 
WSC had nine hits in the game to Central Missouri’s seven.  Hoeg finished 2 for 3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored, while Hix was 2 for 3 with a homer, double, RBI and two runs scored.

Chandler and Loos each added two singles while K. Wobken homered.

 
Miller (4-8) was the winning pitcher. She allowed seven hits and four runs with two strikeouts and five walks.

 
The Wildcats started their game against Emporia State down 5 runs in the first inning. WSC’s rally wasn’t enough, and the ‘Cats suffered an 8-7 defeat to the Hornets.

 
Both teams had 10 hits in the contest. Chandler was 3 for 4 with a triple and two runs scored while Melanie Alyea was 3 for 4 with a double, RBI and run scored. Hoeg ended 2 for 3 with a double and triple, while S. Wobken and Fehringer also had hits for the Wildcats.

 
The entire pitching staff saw action in the game with S. Wobken (0-2) suffering the loss. VanderVeen worked two innings of relief and was charged with two runs followed by Miller, who pitched the next four innings and yielded two runs on three hits. Macias worked the final inning and gave up just one hit.

 
“I think using the whole pitching staff is important,” Miller said. “We’ve been facing good teams, and they’re going to hit. Using every one of us to keep them off balance and guessing just makes us more successful.”

 
The ‘Cats were supposed to play two games Sunday but pulled out of the second game due to weather conditions.

 
Wayne’s only game of the day against host Missouri Western ended in 6 innings, getting run-ruled 14-6, when the Griffons rallied for 14 runs in the last 3 innings.

 
Missouri Western finished with 14 hits in the contest to WSC’s nine.

 
Chandler finished 2 for 4 with a double and a pair of RBI’s while Loos went 2 for 4 at the plate. S. Wobken had a solo home run while K. Wobken, Hix, Schropp and Hoeg each singled.

 
Miller (4-9) suffered the pitching loss, working 4 1/3 innings. VanderVeen pitched 2/3 innings of relief with S. Wobken adding 1/3 inning of relief.