By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 20-ranked Washburn University softball extended its winning streak to seven games with two wins Sundayon the final day of the Washburn Invitational, defeating Southwest Minnesota State 6-2 and Wayne State 3-0 in a shortened game due to rain.
Jaycee Ginter improved to 12-1 as a pitcher as Washburn softball completed a 4-0 record in the Washburn Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Former Shawnee Heights star Jaycee Ginter got the opening game start in the circle for 15-3 Washburn and went five innings, giving up only one run on one hit and striking out five as the Ichabods took a the win over the Mustangs.
It took until the fourth inning for either team to score and it was the Mustangs (0-5) that got on the board first, scoring one run on one hit and one error to break the tie.
The Ichabods came right back in the bottom of the inning, beginning with a walk by Erin Boles.
Autymn Schreiner reached on an error and Boles was able to reach home and score on a second error on the play.
Schreiner advanced to third on the play and scored during the next at bat on a wild pitch to put Washburn in front, 2-0.
Allison Hemsath entered the game as a pinch runner at first base after Kaylee Wagner walked and promptly stole second base.
Hadley Kerschen did the rest, driving her home on a single to center field. Kerschen was moved over to third base and scored on a single into left field by Jaden LaBarge to make it a 4-1 game.
The Ichabods added two more in the sixth inning, beginning with a one-out single by Kerschen. She was moved to second on a groundout, then Marrit Mead traded places with Kerschen, roping a double down the left field line.
LaBarge followed with her second hit of the day and her second RBI, driving in Mead to make it 6-2 Ichabods.
Sheyenne Cheek took over pitching duties in the sixth inning and tossed the remainder of the game. She allowed one run, coming in the bottom of the seventh, but sat down six of eight batters she faced to finish out the game.
Ginter moved to 12-1 on the year and Kerschen collected three hits in the game.
In Sunday's second-game win over Wayne State, Sadie Walker got the pitching start for the Ichabods and threw three full innings and began the fourth, striking out six and giving up no runs on three hits.
Washburn used a two-out rally in the bottom of the first inning to get on the scoreboard first.
Ginter started with a single up the middle and scored on a double by Mead that rolled to the wall in the left field corner.
Schreiner led off the second inning and quickly moved to second base after getting hit by a pitch and then stealing second. She was moved to third by Paige Robbins and then scored on a balk by the Wildcats (1-8).
Walker began the fourth inning, but Cheek came in after two hitters came to the plate. Cheek worked around the baserunners, striking out two and keeping Wayne State scoreless.
Ginter pitched the top of the fifth inning and gave up one hit with no runs while striking out the side.
In the bottom of the fifth the Ichabods added another run on a single through the left side, scoring Hemsath, who entered as a pinch runner. It was the last play of the day before the game was called due to weather conditions with Washburn winning, 3-0.
Washburn pitcher Sadie Walker is congratulated by teammate Marrit Mead during Sunday's Washburn Invitational. Walker picked up her second win of the season in Sunday's second game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Walker picked up the win in the decision and is now 2-2 on the year.
Mead and LaBarge each had multi-hit games, combining for four of the Ichabods' seven hits in the game.
The Ichabods now head to warmer weather in Clermont, Fla., where they will play six games in three days, beginning on Thursday.
Ginter named MIAA Pitcher of the Week
For the sixth time in her Ichabod career and second time this season, Washburn junior Jaycee Ginter has been named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 with a 0.46 earned run average in four appearances at the Washburn Invitational last weekend.
Ginter went 3-0 in four appearances and two starts in the circle last weekend and finished with a total of 24 strikeouts in 151/3 innings pitched. She allowed a total of just one run, three hits (all singles) and two walks in her time in the circle to hold opponents to a .063 batting average.
She threw 13 consecutive innings across three games without allowing a hit.
In a 7-0 win over the University of Mary, Ginter threw the first four innings of a combined no-hitter and surrendered just two walks while striking out five in the win. She carried that momentum into the next game against Minnesota Crookston and tossed a perfect 51/3 frames in relief and did not allow a run, hit, walk or hit batter while striking out 11 of the 16 batters she faced. In that game, she struck out six batters in a row -- all looking.
This season, Ginter has won a Division II-best 12 games and has just one loss with a save in 17 appearances and 12 starts. She has thrown 84.0 innings and holds a conference-low 0.67 ERA and leads the MIAA and is ranked second in the nation in strikeouts with 116.
