The Wildcats softball team started the 2014 season with a good weekend at the Kelly Laas Memorial Dome Invitational in St. Cloud, Minn., finishing with a 2-2 record.

“I thought for our first time out we played pretty well,” said coach Krista Wood. “We had a lot of different players step up this weekend and show potential.”

The Wildcats were led offensively by Kaiti Williams, who hit .455 and Megan Hagemann who hit .400 for the weekend. Sam O’Brien collected four RBIs and Hagemann had five. Pitcher Sara Scheffert picked up her first two wins of the season.

The Wildcats earned a lopsided victory in their season-opener on Friday over Nebraska-Kearney, 11-2.
The ‘Cats started off the game quickly by scoring five runs on six hits and two errors in the first two innings.

UNK got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning scoring two runs on two hits.

The ‘Cats put the game out of reach by getting one run in the fifth inning and five in the sixth inning.

Hagemann and O’ Brien had two hits and three RBIs each to lead the ‘Cats offense. Scheffert fired five solid innings to get the win, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.

The Wildcats opened their triple-header on Saturday by holding off Concordia-St. Paul with a 5-4 victory.

Through four innings the Wildcats carried a 2-0 lead before tacking on three runs in the fifth inning.

WSC ran into some trouble in the seventh inning when the Golden Bears came clawing back. The Golden Bears scored four runs on four hits and two errors. They had the bases loaded before Scheffert got a strikeout to end the threat and seal the victory for WSC.

Jordan King led the ‘Cats at the plate going two for three with an RBI and run scored. Scheffert allowed four runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

In the second game, the Wildcats suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Missouri Western, 2-1.

After a scoreless first three innings, Missouri Western got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with one run on two hits and one error.

The ‘Cats answered in the top of the fifth when O’Brien launched a solo homerun, tying the game.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Griffons plated another run proving to be the game winner. The ‘Cats got runners on first and second in the seventh, but were unable to push them across.

O’Brien led the ‘Cats offense with a solo homer and Williams who went two for three at the plate.

Kelcie Bormann received the pitching loss as she worked six innings and gave up nine hits and two runs (zero earned) with three strikeouts and one walk.

The Wildcats ended the weekend with a 6-1 loss to Emporia State.

Emporia State opened the scoring by plating two runs in the third inning. The ‘Cats got one run back in the fourth inning.

The Hornets added one run in the fourth inning and three runs in the fifth to end the ‘Cats tournament on a sour note.

Kylee Simpson was two for three with a pair of singles and Hagemann was credited with WSC’s lone run batted in to lead the offense. Cassy Miller suffered the pitching loss, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and no walks. Bormann worked the final 1 2/3 innings and gave up just one hit with two walks and two strikeouts.

“I expect our team to keep moving forward this weekend,” Wood said. “We need to keep playing hard and improving on the little aspects of the game.”

Wayne State returns to action Saturday and Sunday at the Teri Mathis-Zenner Memorial Tournament in Joplin, Mo., at Missouri Southern University