By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The Washburn University softball team fell 6-0 in Saturday's opener to No. 8-ranked Rogers State before coming back in the second game to pick up a 4-1 win over the Hillcats.
The Washburn Ichabods were limited to three hits in the first game as Danielle Schlader came up with two of those.
Freshman Danielle Schlader had a big day at the plate as Washburn softball earned a twinbill split at No. 8-ranked Rogers State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Jaycee Ginter picked up her 23rd pitching win of the season in Washburn's 4-1 second-game win over Rogers State on Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
Rogers State scored runs in each inning but the fourth as the Hillcats improved to 38-8 in the first game.
Schlader had hits in the second and the fourth innings and Jaden LaBarge had the third and final hit for the Ichabods in the seventh.
Sheyenne Creek took the pitching loss, falling to 5-2 on the season. Creek threw 132 pitches and struck out three.
After the Hillcats took a 1-0 second-game lead on their first at-bat on an unearned run, the Ichabods came back with a run of their own to tie the score in the top of the second.
Shawnee Heights product Jaycee Ginter started the inning with a single and then came around to score on a double down the line by Hadley Kerschen.
In the third, the Ichabods (35-13 overall, 14-10 MIAA) took a 2-1 lead when Schlader picked up an RBI single scoring former Silver Lake standout Ellington Hogle, who singled to lead off the inning.
Washburn pushed its lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning, taking advantage of a Hillcat miscue.
Kimi Patterson scored when LaBarge reached on a fielding error and then Schlader again connected on a 0-0 pitch with a single up the middle scoring, scoring Marrit Mead, who walked in the inning.
The score remained the same through the fifth and sixth innings.
In the seventh, the Hillcats (38-9, 15-7 MIAA) loaded the bases with no outs, but Ginter, who moved to 23-7 in the circle, pitched out of the jam with a flyout, a fielder's choice at home and a groundout to end the game, snapping Rogers State's five game winning streak.
Schlader and Ginter both had two of Washburn's eight hits with Schlader driving in two runs.
